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THE  LIBRARY 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 

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Copyright,  1890,  bt 
CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 


I'n-nRof  .1.  .1.  Llltlo  &  Co., 
AKtor  I'liKM',  New  York, 


College 
Library 


D7 


V.I 


CONTENTS   OF   VOLUME  L 


PAGE 

Peefatory   Letter  to   Sir   William   Mackinnon,   Chairman  of 

THE    EMIN   pasha    RELIEF    EXPEDITION ,  I 


CHAPTEE  I. 

INTRODUCTORY   CHAPTER. 

The  Khedive  and  the  Soudan — Arabi  Pasha — Hicks  Pasha's  defeat — 
The  Mahdi — Sir  Evelyn  Baring  and  Ijord  Granville  on  the 
Soudan — Valentine  Baker  Pasha — General  Gordon  :  his  work 
in  the  Upper  Soudan — Edward  Schnitzler  (or  Emin  Effendi 
Hakim)  and  his  Province — General  Gordon  at  Kliartoum :  and 
account  of  the  Eelief  Expedition  in  1884  under  Lord  Wolseley 
— Mr.  A.  M.  Mackay,  the  missionary  in  Uganda — Letters  from 
Emin  Bey  to  Mr.  Mackay,  Mr.  C.  H.  Allen,  and  Dr.  E.  W.  Felkin, 
relating  to  his  Province — ]\lr.  F.  Holmwood's  and  Mr.  A.  M. 
Mackay's  views  on  the  proposed  relief  of  Emin— Suggested 
routes  for  the  Emin  Eelief  Expedition — Sir  Wm.  Mackinnon 
and  Mr.  J.  E.  Hutton — The  Eelief  Fund  and  preparatory  details 
of  the  Expedition —Colonel  Sir  Francis  De  Winton — Selection  of 
officers  for  the  Expedition — King  Leopold  and  the  Congo  Eoute 
— Departure  for  Egypt      ..      ..     11 


CHAPTEE  n. 

EGYPT   AND    ZANZIBAR. 

Surgeon  T.  H.  Parke — Views  of  Sir  Evelyn  Baring,  Nubar  Pasha, 
Professor  Schweinfurth  and  Dr.  Junker  on  the  Emin  Eelief 
Expedition — Details  relating  to  Emin  Pasha  and  his  Province — 
General  Grenfell  and  the  ammunition — Breakfast  with  Khedive 
Tewtik:  message  to  Emin  Pasha— Departure  for  Zanzibar — 
Description  of  Mombasa  town — Visit  to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar 
— Letter  to  Emin  Pasha  sent  by  messenger  through  Uganda — 
Arrangements  with  Tippu-Tib — Emin  Pasha's  Ivory — IVIr. 
MacKenzie,  Sir  John  Pender,  and  Sir  James  Anderson's  assist- 
ance to  the  Eelief  Expedition   49 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  in. 

BY   SEA   TO   THE   CONGO    RIVER. 

PACK 

The  Sultan  of  Zanzibar — Tippu-Tib  and  Stanley  Falls — On  board 
s.s.  Madtira — "  Shindy  "  between  the  Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese 
— Sketches  of  my  various  Officers — Tippu-Tib  and  Cape  Town 
— Arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  River — Start  up  the 
Congo — Visit  from  two  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Congo  State — Unpleasant  thoughts 67 

CHAPTER  lY. 

TO    STANLEY     POOL, 

Details  of  the  journey  to  Stanley  Pool — The  Soudanese  and  the 
Somalis — Meeting  with  Mr.  Herbert  Ward — Camp  at  Congo  la 
Lemba — Kindly  entertained  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rirjhards — Letters 
from  up  river — Letters  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bentley  and  others  for 
assistance — Arrival  at  Mwembi — Necessity  of  enforcing  disci- 
pline— March  to  Vorobo — Incident  at  Lukimgu  Station — The 
Zanzibaris — Incident  between  Jephson  and  Salim  at  the  Inkissi 
River — A  series  of  complaints — The  Eev.  Mr.  Bentley  and  the 
steamev  Peace — We  reach  Makoko's  village — LeoiDoldville — Diffi- 
culties regarding  the  use  of  the  Mission  steamers — Monsieur 
Liebrichts  sees  Mr.  Billington— Visit  to  Mr.  Swinburne  at  Kin- 
shassa — Orders  to,  and  duties  of,  the  officers         79 

CHAPTER  V. 

FROM    STANLEY    TOOL    TO  YAMBTJTA. 

Upper  Congo  scenery — Accident  to  the  Peace  —  Steamers  reach 
Kimpoko — Collecting  fuel — Tlie  good-for-notliing  Peace — The 
Slaii/ci/  in  trouble — Arrival  at  Bolobo — Tlic  Relief  Expedition 
arranged  in  two  columns — IMajor  Uarttelot  and  Mr.  .Tameson 
cliosen  for  command  of  Rear  Column — Arrival  at  Equator  and 
Bangala  Stations — The  Basoko  villages:  Baruti  deserts  us — 
Arrival  at  Yambuya 09 


CHAPTER  VL 

AT    VAMHUYA. 

We  land  at  Yambuya  villages — Tlio  Stavley  leaves  for  Equator 
Station — Fears  regarding  ]\Iaj')r  I'.arttolot  and  the  Jh my  Perd — 
Safe  arrival — Instructions  to  IMaJor  ]{arttolot  and  Mr.  Jameson 
res})octing  tli(!  Rear  Cohiinn — Slajor  ]>;irttrlot's  donbts  as  to 
Ti])pn-'J'il)'s  good  faith — h  long  conversation  with  Major  Bart- 
b;]ot — Memorandum  for  tlio  olliccrs  of  t-lio  Advancie  (!olumn — 
IIlncsH  of  Lieutenant  Stairs — Last  night  at  Yambuyji, :  state- 
ments as  to  our  forces  and  accoutromonts     HI 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

TO    PANGA    FALLS. 

PAGC 

An  African  road — Our  mode  of  travelling  through  the  forests — 
Farewell  to  Jameson  and  the  Major — IGO  days  in  the  forest — 
The  Eapids  of  Yambuya — Attacked  by  natives  of  I'ankonde — 
Rest  at  the  village  of  Bahunga — Description  of  our  march — 
The  poisoned  skewers — Capture  of  six  Eabali — Dr.  Parke  and 
the  bees — K  tempest  in  the  forest — Mr.  Jephson  puts  the  steel 
boat  together — The  village  of  Bukanda — Refuse  heaps  of  the 
villages — The  Aruwimi  river  scenery — Villages  of  the  Bakuti 
and  the  Bakoka — The  Rapids  of  Gwengwere — The  boy  Bakula 
— Our  "  chop  and  coffee  " — The  islands  near  Bandangi — The 
Baburu  dwarfs — The  unknown  course  of  the  river— The  Somalis 
—Bartering  at  Mariri  and  Mupo — The  Aruwimi  at  Mup6— The 
Babe  manners,  customs,  and  dress — Jephson's  two  adventures — 
Wasp  Rapids— The  chief  of  the  Bwamburi  —  Our  camp  at 
My-yui — Canoe  accident — ^An  abandoned  village — Arrival  at 
Panga  Falls — Description  of  the  Falls  ..      ..  L'J4 

CHAPTER  YIII. 

FROM   PANGA   FALLS    TO   UGARROWWA's. 

Another  accident  at  the  Rapids — The  Tillage  of  Utiri — Avisibba 
settlement — Enquiry  into  a  miirder  case  at  Avisibba — Sur- 
prised by  the  natives — Lieutenant  Stairs  wounded — We  hunt 
up  the  enemy — The  poisoned  arrows — Indifference  of  tlie  Zanzi- 
baris — Jephson's  caravan  missing — Our  wounded — Perpetual 
rain — Deaths  of  Khalfan,  Saadi,  and  others — Arrival  of  caravan 
— The  Mabengu  Rapids — Mustering  the  people — The  Nepoko 
river— Remarks  liy  Binza — Our  food  supply — ^Reckless  use  of 
ammunition — Halfway  to  the  Albert  Lake — We  fall  in  with 
some  of  Ugarrowwa's  men — Absconders — We  cami?  at  Hippo 
Broads  and  Avakubi  Rapids  —  The  destroyed  settlement 
of  Navabi — Elephants  at  Memberri  —  More  desertions — The 
Arab  leader,  Ugarrowwa — He  gives  us  information — Visit  to  the 
Arab  settlement  —  First  specimen  of  the  tribe  of  dwarfs — 
Arrangements  with  Ugarrowwa       171 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ugarrowwa's  to  kilonga-longa's. 

Ugarrowwa  sends  us  three  Zanzibari  deserters — We  make  an 
example— The  'Express'  rifles — Conversation  with  Rashid 
— The  Lenda  river — Troublesome  rapids — Scarcity  of  food 
—Some  of  Kilonga-Longa's  followers— Meeting  of  the  rivers 
Ihuru  and  Ituri — State  and  niombers  of  the  Expedition — 
Illness  of  Captain  Nelson — We  send  couriers  ahead  to  Kilonga- 
Longa's — The  sick  encampment — Randy  and  the  guinea  fowl- 
Scarcity  of  food — Illness  caused  by  the  forest  pears — ^Fauciful 
menus — More  desertions — Asmani  drowned — Our  condition  in 
brief — Uledi's  suggestion — ITmari's  climb — My  donkey  is  shot 
for  food  —We  strike  tlie  track  of  the  Manyuema  and  arrive  at 
their  village 211 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE  X, 

WITH    THE    MANYUEMA    AT    IPOTO. 

PAGB 

The  ivory  hunters  at  Ipoto  —Their  mode  of  proceeding — The  Mau- 
yuema  headmen  and  their  raids — Eemedy  for  preventing  whole- 
sale devastations  —Crusade  preached  by  Cardinal  Lavigerie — 
Our  Zanzibar  chiefs — Anxiety  respecting  Captain  Nelson  and 
his  followers— Our  men  sell  their  weapons  for  food — Theft  of 
rifles — Their  return  demanded — Uledi  turns  up  with  news  of 
the  missing  chiefs — Contract  drawn  up  with  the  Manyuema 
headmen  for  the  relief  of  Captain  Nelson — Jephson's  report  on 
his  journey — Reports  of  Captain  Nelson  and  Surgeon  Parke — 
The  process  of  blood  brotherhood  between  myself  and  Ismaili — 
We  leave  Ipoto 236 

CHAPTER  XL 

THROUGH  THE  FOREST  TO  MAZAMBONl's  PEAK. 

In  the  country  of  the  Balesse — Their  houses  and  clearings — Natives 
of  Bukiri — The  first  village  of  dwarfs — Our  rate  of  progress 
increased — The  road  from  Mambungu's — Halts  at  East  and  West 
Indekaru — A  little  storm  between  "  Three  O'clock"  and  Khamis 
— \Ve  reach  Ibwiri—Khamis  and  the  "  vile  Zanzibaris  " — The 
Ibwiri  clearing — Plentiful  iM'ovisions — The  state  of  my  men; 
and  what  they  had  recently  gone  through — Khamis  and  party 
cxjjlore  the  neighbourhood — And  return  with  a  ilock  of  goats 
— Khamis  captures  Boryo,  but  is  released — Jephson  returns 
from  the  relief  of  Captain  Nelson — Departure  of  Khamis  and 
the  Manyuema  —  Memorandum  of  charges  against  Messrs. 
Kilonga  Longa  &,  Co.  of  Ipoto — Suicido  of  Simba — Sali's  reflec- 
tions on  the  same — Lieutenant  Stairs  reconnoitres — Muster  and 
reorganisation  at  Ibwiri — Improved  condition  of  the  men  — 
Boryo's  village — Balesse  ciistoms — ^East  ludenduru — We  reach 
the  outskirts  of  the  forest — Mount  Pisgah — The  village  of 
lyugu — Heaven's  light  at  last;  the  beautiful  grass-land — We 
drop  across  an  ancient  crone — Indesura  and  its  ])roducts — 
Juma's  capture — The  Itmi  river  again — We  emerge  ujiou  a 
rolling  ]ilain — And  forage  in  some  villages — The  mode  of  hut 
construction — Tlie  district  of  the  Babusessc — Our  Mbiri  captives 
— Natives  attack  the  c^M\\\^ — The  course  of  the  Ituri — The 
natives  of  Almnguma — Our  faro  since  leaving  ]bwiri — Mazam- 
boni's  Peak  —  The  east  Ituri  —  A  mass  of  ])laniations  — 
Domonst ration  by  tlio  natives — Our  cam))  on  the  crest  of  Nzera 
Kum — "  lie  strong  and  of  a  good  courage" — Eriendly  intercourse 
with  tlio  natives — ^V'e  arc  c(jra))elled  to  disperse  them — Peace 
arranged — Arms  of  the  ]Jandussuiua       255 


Cir.M'TKR  XT  I. 

AltniVAI,    AT    LAKE    AI.HKltT    AND    OUIl    ItKTtlUN    'I'O    inWIUT. 

We  an:  fiirtlicr  annoyed  by  fhe  Ji!itiv(!s — 'I'licir  villages  fired — 
(Javira'H  villago — We  keep  tli(!  natives  at  bay — I'lateau  of 
Uiiyoro  iu  view — Night  attack  by  tlio  natives — Tiic  villago  of 


CONTENTS.  vii 


Katonza's — ^Parley  wiih  the  natives — No  news  of  the  Paslia — 
Oiir  supply  of  cartridges — We  consider  our  position — Lieutenant 
Stairs  converses  witli  the  people  of  Kasenya  Island — Tlie  only 
sensible  course  left  us — Again  attacked  by  natives — Scenery  on 
the  lake's  shore — We  climb  a  mountain- -A  ricli  discovery  of 
grain — The  rich  valley  of  Undussuma — Our  return  journey  to 
Ibwiri — The  construction  of  Fort  Bodo  319 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LIFE   AT   FORT   BODO. 

Our  impending  duties — The  stockade  of  Fort  Bodo — Instructions  to 
Lieutenant  Stairs — His  departure  for  Kilonga-Longa's — Pested 
by  rats,  mosquitoes,  &c. — Nights  disturbed  by  the  lemur — 
Armies  of  red  ants — Snakes  in  tropical  Africa — Hoisting  the 
Egyptian  flag — Arrival  of  Surgeon  Parke  and  Captain  Nelson 
from  Ipoto — Eei)ort  of  their  stay  with  the  Manyuema — Lieu- 
tenant Stairs  arrives  with  the  steel  boat — We  determine  to  push 
on  to  the  Lake  at  once — Volunteers  to  convey  letters  to  Major 
Barttelot — Illness  of  myself  and  Captain  Nelson — Uledi  captures 
a  Queen  of  the  Pigmies  — Our  fields  of  corn — Life  at  Fort  Bodo 
^We  again  set  out  for  the  Nyanza 350 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TO    THE    ALBERT   NYANZA    A    SECOND   TIME. 

Difficulties  with  tlie  steel  boat — African  forest  craft — Splendid 
capture  of  pigmies,  and  description  of  the  same — We  cross  the 
Ituri  River — Dr.  Parke's  delight  on  leaving  the  forest — Camp 
at  Besse — Zanzibari  wit — At  Nzera-Kum  Hill  once  more — Inter- 
course with  the  natives — "  Malleju,"  or  the  "  Bearded  One," 
being  first  news  of  Emin — Visit  from  chief  Mazamboni  and  his 
followers — Jephson  goes  through  the  form  of  friendshiji  with 
Mazamboni — The  medicine  men,  Nestor  and  Murabo — The 
tribes  of  the  Congo — Visit  from  chief  Gavira — A  Mhuma  chief — 
The  Bavira  and  Wahuma  races — The  varying  African  features — 
Friendshiii  with  Mpinga — Gavira  and  the  looking-glass — Ex- 
posed Uzanza  —  We  reach  Kavalli  —  The  cliief  produces 
"Malleju's"  letter — Emin's  letter — Jephson  and  Parke  convey 
the  steel  boat  to  the  lake — Copy  of  letter  sent  by  me  to  Emin 
through  Jephson — Friendly  visits  from  natives 373 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   MEETING    WITH   EMIN   PASHA. 

Our  camp  at  Bundi — Mbiassi,  the  chief  of  Kavaili — The  Balegga 
granaries — Chiefs  Katonza  and  Komubi  express  contrition — The 
kites  at  Badzwa — A  note  from  Jephson — Emin,  Casati  and 
Jephson  walk  into  our  camp  at  old  Kavaili  —Descriptions  of 
Emin  Pasha  and  Captain  Casati — The  Pasha's  Soudanese — Our 
Zanzibaris  —  The    steamer    Khedive  —  Baker    and    the    Blue 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Mountains — Drs.  Junker  and  Felkin's  descriptions  of  Emin — 
Proximity  of  Kabba  Eega— Emin  and  tbe  Equatorial  Provinces 
— Dr.  Junkers  report  of  Emin — I  discuss  with  Emin  our  future 
proceedings — Captain  Casati's  plans — Our  camp  and  provisions 
at  Nsabe — Kabba  Kegas  treatment  of  Captain  Casati  and 
Mohammed  Biri — Mabruki  gored  by  a  buffalo — Emin  Pasha  and 
his  soldiers — My  propositions  to  Emin  and  his  answer — Emin'is 
position — Mahomet  Achmet — The  Congo  State — The  Foreign 
OflBce  despatches 393 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WITH   THE   PASHA — COTliinued. 

Fortified  stations  in  the  Province — Storms  at  Nsabe — A  nest  of 
young  crocodiles — ^Lake  Ibrahim — Zanzilmri  raid  on  Balegga 
villages — Dr.  Parke  goes  in  search  of  the  two  missing  men — The 
Zanzibaris  again — A  real  tornado — The  Pasha's  gifts  to  us — 
Introduced  to  Emin's  officers — Emin's  cattle  forays — The 
Khedive  dei:)arts  for  Mswa  station — Mabruki  and  his  wages — The 
Pasha  and  the  use  of  the  sextant — Departure  of  local  chiefs — 
Arrival  of  the  Khedive  and  Nyanza  steamers  with  soldiers — Made 
arrangements  to  return  in  search  of  the  rear-column— My  message 
to  the  trooi^s— Our  Badzwa  road — A  farewell  dance  by  the 
Zanzibaris — The  Madi  carriers'  disappearance — First  sight  of 
Ruwenzori — Former  circumnavigators  of  the  Albert  Lake — 
Lofty  twin-peak  moxintain  near  the  East  Ituri  Paver — Aid  for 
Emin  against  Kabba  Pcga — Two  letters  from  Emin  Pasha — 
"We  are  informed  of  an  intended  attack  on  us  by  chiefs  Kadongo 
and  Musiri — Fresh  JIadi  carriers — A^'c  attack  Kadongo'scamp — 
With  assistance  from  JMazamboni  and  Gavira  we  march  on 
Musiri's  cam]t  which  turns  out  to  bo  deserted — A  ])halanx  dance 
by  Mazamboni's  warriors — Music  on  the  African  Continent — 
Cam])  at  Nzera-kum  ilill — Presents  from  various  chiefs — Chief 
Musiri  wishes  for  peace      ..      ..      418 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

PERSONAL  TO    THE   PASHA. 

Age  and  early  (lays  of  Emin  Pasha— Gordon  and  the  ]iay  of  Emin 
Pasha — Last  interview  witii  Gordon  I'asha  in  1877 — I'jnin's  last 
supply  of  ammunition  and  iJrovisions — Five  yoai's'  isolation — 
Mackay's  library  in  Uganda — Emin's  abilities  and  litncss  for  his 
jiosition — His  linguistic  an<l  oilier  altainmcnts — Emin's  industry 
— His  neat  journals— Story  relatcMJ  to  me  ])y  Sliukri  Aglia 
referring  to  Emin's  (escape;  from  Kirri  to  Mswn — ]''min  confirms 
the  story — Some  natural  liistory  facts  related  to  mi!  by  Emin — 
The  Paslia  and  the  Dinka  tribe— A  lion  story — Emin  and  "  bird 
studicH"         422 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTEK  XVIII. 

START    FOR    THE    RELIEF    OF    THE    REAR    COLUMN. 

Escorted  by  various  tribes  to  Mukanp;i — Carap  at  Ukuba  villuge — 
Arrival  at  Fort  Bodo— Our  invalids  in  Ugarrowwa's  care — 
Lieut.  Stairs'  report  on  his  visit  to  bring  up  the  invalids  to 
Fort  Bodo — Night  visits  by  the  malicious  dwarfs — A  general 
muster  of  the  garrison — I  decide  to  conduct  the  Eelief  force 
in  person — Captain  Nelson's  ill-health — My  little  fox-terrier 
"Eandy"— Description  of  the  fort  —  The  Zanzibaris  —  Esti- 
mated time  to  perform  the  journey  to  Yambuya  and  back — 
Lieut.  Stairs'  suggestion  about  the  steamer  htanhy — Conversa- 
tion with  Lieut.  Stairs  iu  reference  to  Major  Barttelot  and  the 
Eear  Column — Letter  of  instructions  to  Lieut.  Stairs 452 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

ARRIVAL  AT  BANAL YA .'  BARTTELOT  DEAD  I 

The  Relief  Force — The  difficulties  of  marching — We  reach  Ipoto — 
Kilonga  Longa  apologises  for  the  behaviour  of  his  Manyuema — 
The  chief  returns  us  some  of  our  rifles — Dr.  Parke  and  fourteen 
met  return  to  Fort  Bodo — Ferrying  across  the  Ituri  River — 
Indications  of  some  of  our  old  camps — We  nnearth  our  buried 
stores — The  Manyuema  escort — Bridging  the  Lenda  River — 
The  famished  Madi — Accidents  and  deaths  among  the  Zanzi- 
baris and  Madi — My  little  fox-terrier  "Randy" — The  vast 
clearing  of  Ujangwa  —  Native  women  guides  —  We  reach 
Ugarrowwa's  abandoned  station  —  Welcome  food  at  Amiri 
Falls— Navabi  Falls — Halt  at  Avamburi  landing-place — Death 
of  a  Madi  chief — Our  buried  stores  near  Basopo  unearthed 
and  stolen — Juma  antl  Nassib  wander  away  from  the  Column — 
The  evils  of  forest  marching  —  Conversation  between  my 
tent-boy,  Sali,  and  a  Zauzibari — Numerous  bats  at  Mabengu 
village — We  reach  Avisibba,  and  find  a  young  Zanzibari  girl — 
Nejambi  Rapids  and  Panga  Falls — The  natives  of  Panga— At 
Mugwye's  we  disturb  an  intended  feast — AVe  overtake  Ugar- 
rowwa  at  Wasp  Rapids  and  find  our  couriers  and  some  deserters 
in  his  camp— The  head  courier  relates  his  tragic  story — Amusing 
letter  from  Dr.  Parke  to  Major  Jiartlelot — Progress  of  our  canoe 
flotilla  down  the  river— The  Batundu  natives — Our  progress 
since  leaving  the  Nyanza — Thoughts  about  the  Rear  Column — 
Desolation  along  the  banks  of  the  river — We  reach  Banalya — 
Meeting  with  Bonny — The  Major  is  dead — ^Banalya  Camp..      ..  1(58 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    SAD    STORY   OF   THE   REAB   COLUMN. 

Tippu-Tilj — Major  E.  JI-  Barttelot— Mr.  J.  S.  Jameson— Mr.  Herbert 
Ward — Messrs.  Troup  and  Bonny — IMajor  Barttelot's  Report  on 
the  doings  of  the  Rear  Column — Conversation  with  Mr.  Bonny 
— Major  Barttelot's  letter  to  Mr.  Bonny — Facts  gleaned  from  the 
written  narrative  of  Mr.  Wm.  Bonny — Mr.  Ward  detained  at 
Bangala — Repeated  visits  of  the  Major  to  Stanley  Falls— Murder 


CONTENTS. 

PAOH 

of  Major  Barttelot — Bonny's  account  of  the  murder  —  The 
assassin  Sanga  is  punished — Jameson  dies  of  fever  at  Bangala 
Station — Meeting  of  the  advance  and  rear  columns— Dreadful 
state  of  the  camp— Tii^pu-Tib  and  Major  Barttelot— Mr.  Jameson 
— Mr.  Herbert  Ward's  report •      ••   498 


APPENDIX- 
Gopy  of  Log  of  Eear  Column • •  527 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

VOLUME    I. 

STEEL  ENGRAVING, 

Portrait  of  Henry  M.  Stanley Frontispiece. 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Elliott  &  Fry,  1886.) 

FVLL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing 
page 

Group — Mr.  Stanley  and  his  Officers 1 

The  Steel  Boat  "Advance" 80 

In  the  Night  and  Rain  in  the  Forest 146 

The  Fight  with  the  Avisibba  Cannibals 174 

The  River  Column  Ascending  the  Aruwimi  River  with  the  "Ad- 
vance" AND  Sixteen  Canoes 184 

Wooden  Arrows  of  the  Avisibba 180 

"The  Pasha  is  Coming" 19G 

The  Relief  of  Nelson  and  Survivors  at  Starvation  Camp    .        .  250 

Gymnastics  in  a  Forest  Clearing 258 

Iyugu  ;  A  Call  to  Arms 286 

Emerging  from  the  Forest 292 

First  Experiences  with  Mazamboni's   People.     View   from   Nzera 

KuM  Hill 306 

The  South  End  of  the  Albert  Nyanza,  Dec.  13,  1887     .        .        .324 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing 
page 

Sketch-Map  :  "Return  to  Ugarrowa's."    By  Lieutenant  Stairs   .  365 

Emin  and  Casati  Arrive  at  Lake  Shore  Camp 396 

A  Phalanx  Dance  by  Mazamboni's  Warriors 438 

Meeting  with  the  Rear  Column  at  Banalya    ,        ,        ,        .        .  494 


OTHER   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Portrait  of  Emin  Pasha 18 

"            Captain  Nelson 39 

"            Lieutenant  Stairs 40 

**             William  Bonny 41 

"             A.  J.  Mounteney  Jephson 42 

"             Surgeon  Parke,  A.M.D 50 

"             NuBAR  Pasha 51 

"             The  Khedive  Tewfik 55 

"             TiPPU-TiB 68 

Maxim  Automatic  Gun 83 

Launching  the  Steamer  "  Florida  " 96 

Stanley  Pool 100 

Baruti  Finds  his  Brother 109 

A  Typical  Village  on  the  Lower  Aruwimi 112 

Landing  at  Yambuya 113 

Diagram  of  Forest  Camps 130 

Marching  through  the  Forest            135 

The  Kirangozi,  or  Foremost  Man 137 

I1i;ai)-Dri;ss — Ckown  ok  Bkistlks 160 

I'addi.k  ok  TiiK  I'l'i-Kit  Aruwimi  or  Iti  ki 160 

Wasps'  Nests 164 

Fort  Island,   near  I'anija  Falls 168 

I'a.noa  Falls 169 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xiii 

Facing 
page 

View  of  Utiri  Village 172 

Leaf-Bladed  Paddle  of  Avisibba 174 

A  Head-Dress  of  Avisibba  Warriors          , 178 

Coroneted  Avisibba  Warrior — Head-Dress 179 

Cascades  of  the  Nepoko 193 

View  of  Bafaido  Cataract 202 

Attacking  an  Elephant  in  the  Ituri  River 203 

Randy  Seizes  the  Guinea  Fowl 224 

KiLONGA  Longa's  Station 234 

Shields  of  the  Balessie 256 

View  of  Mount  Pisgah  from  the  Eastward 281 

Villages  of  the  Bakwuru  on  a  Spur  of  Pisgah       ....  283 

A  Village  at  the  Base  of  Pisgah 284 

Chief  of  the  Iyugu 285 

Pipes  of  Forest  Tribes 290 

Shields  of  the  Babusesse 299 

Suspension  Bridge  across  the  East  Ituri  ....                 .  304 

Shield  of  the  Edge  of  the  Plains     .......  317 

View  of  the  South  End  of  Albert  Nyanza 318 

Corn  Granary  of  the  Babusesse 342 

A  Village  of  the  Baviri  :  Europeans  Tailoring      ....  345 

Great  Rock  near  Indetonga 348 

Exterior  View  of  Fort  Bodo 349 

Interior  of  Fort  Bodo 351 

Plan  of  Fort  Bodo  and  Vicinity,  by  Lieutenant  Stairs.        .        .  354 

The  Queen  of  the  Dwarfs 368 

Within  Fort  Bodo 371 

One  of  Mazamboni's  Warriors 384 

Kavalli,  Chief  of  the  Babiassi 389 

Milk  Vessel  of  the  Wahuma      ....*....  392 

The  Steamers  ''Khedive"  and  "Nyanza"  on  TiAKE  Albert    .        .  426 

View  of  Banalya  Curve 493 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Facing 
page 

Portrait  of  Major  Barttelot 499 

"  Me.  Jameson «    501 


MAP. 

A  Map  of  the  Great  Forest  Region,  Showing  the  Route  of  the 
Emin  Pasha  Relief  Expedition  from  the  River  Congo  to 
Victoria  Nyanza.     By  Henry  M.  Stanley. 


In  Pocket. 


IN    DARKEST    AFRICA. 


PREFATORY  LETTER. 


My  dear  Sir  William, 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  dedicating  this  book  to  you. 
It  professes  to  be  the  Official  Report  to  yourself  and  the 
Emin  Relief  Committee  of  what  we  have  experienced 
and  endured  during  our  mission  of  Relief,  which  cir- 
cumstances altered  into  that  of  Rescue.  You  may 
accept  it  as  a  truthful  record  of  the  journeyings  of  the 
Expedition  which  you  and  the  Emin  Relief  Committee 
entrusted  to  my  guidance. 

I  regret  that  I  was  not  able  to  accomplish  all  that  I 
burned  to  do  when  I  set  out  from  England  in  January, 
1887,  but  the  total  collapse  of  the  Government  of 
Equatoria  thrust  upon  us  the  duty  of  conveying  in 
hammocks  so  many  aged  and  sick  people,  and  protecting 
so  many  helpless  and  feeble  folk,  that  we  became  trans- 
formed from  a  small  fighting  column  of  tried  men  into 
a  mere  Hospital  Corps  to  whom  active  adventure  was 
denied.  The  Governor  was  half  blind  and  possessed 
much  luggage,  Casati  w^as  weakly  and  had  to  be  carried, 
and  90  per  cent,  of  their  followers  were,  soon  after 
starting,  scarcely  able  to  travel  from  age,  disease,  weak- 
ness or  infancy.  Without  sacrificing  our  sacred  charge, 
to  assist  which  was  the  object  of  the  Expedition,  we 
could  neither  deviate  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  from 
the  most  direct  road  to  the  sea. 

VOL.    L  B 


2  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

You  who  tliroiiohout  vour  Ion 2;  and  varied  life  have 
steadfastly  believed  in  the  Christian's  God,  and  ijefore 
men  have  professed  your  devout  thankfulness  for  many 
mercies  vouchsafed  to  you,  will  better  understand  than 
many  others  the  feelings  which  animate  me  when  I  find 
myself  back  again  in  civilization,  uninjured  in  life  or 
health,  after  passing  through  so  many  stormy  and  dis- 
tressful periods.  Constrained  at  the  darkest  hour  to 
humbly  confess  that  without  God's  help  I  was  helpless, 
I  vowed  a  vow  in  the  forest  solitudes  that  I  would 
confess  His  aid  before  men.  A  silence  as  of  death  was 
round  about  me  ;  it  was  midnight ;  I  was  weakened  by 
illness,  prostrated  with  fatigue  and  worn  with  anxiety 
for  my  white  and  ])lack  companions,  whose  fate  was  a 
mystery.  In  this  physical  and  mental  distress  I  be- 
sought God  to  give  me  back  my  people.  Nine  hours 
later  we  were  exulting  with  a  rapturous  joy.  In  full 
view  of  all  was  the  crimson  flag  with  the  crescent,  and 
lieneath  its  waving  folds  was  the  long-lost  rear  column. 

Again,  we  had  emerged  into  the  open  country  out  of 
the  forest,  after  such  experiences  as  in  the  collective 
annals  of  African  travels  there  is  no  parallel.  We  were 
approaching  the  region  wherein  our  ideal  Governor  was 
reported  to  be  beleaguered.  All  that  we  heard  from 
such  natives  as  our  scouts  caught  prepared  us  for  des- 
perate encounters  with  nuiltitudes,  of  whose  numbers  or 
(jualities  none  could  iiifniiii  us  intelligently,  and  when 
the  population  of  riKlusuiuu  swarmed  in  myriads  on  the 
hills,  and  the  valleys  seemed  alive  with  warriors,  it  really 
seemed  to  US  iu  our  dense  ignorance  of  their  character 
and  power,  iliat  these  were  of  those  who  hemmed  in 
the  I'asha  to  the  west.  if  he  with  his  4000  soldiers 
a[)|)ealed  for  help,  what  could  we  efl'ect  with  173? 
The  \\\'i\\\  hefore  I  liad  been  reading  the  exhortation  of 
Moses  to  Joshua,  and  whether  it  was  the  effect  of  those 
liia\-e  words,  oi"  whether  it  was  a  \oice,  I  know  not,  but 
It  appeare(l  toiiie  as  though  I  heard:  "Be  strong,  and 
of  a  good  conra<.;e,  fear  not.  noi-  lie  afraid  of  them,  for 
th(;  Lord  thy  (Jod  lie  it  is  that  doth  -_;(.  with  thee,  He 
will  iKjt  fail  thee  nor   lor-ake  thee.        W  lieu  on  the  next 


PREFATOItY   LETTER.  3 

flay  Mazaml)oni  commanded  his  people  to  attack  and 
exterminate  us,  there  was  not  a  coward  in  our  camp, 
wliereas  the  evening  before  we  exclaimed  in  bitterness 
on  seeing  four  of  our  men  fly  before  one  native,  "  And 
these  are  the  wretches  with  whom  we  must  reach  the 
Pasha  ! " 

And  yet  again.  Between  the  confluence  of  the  Ihuru 
and  the  Dui  rivers  in  December  1888,  150  of  the 
best  and  strongest  of  our  men  had  been  despatched  to 
forage  for  food.  They  had  been  absent  for  many  days 
more  than  they  ought  to  have  been,  and  in  the  mean- 
time 130  men  besides  boys  and  women  were  starving. 
They  were  supported  each  day  with  a  cup  (jf  warm  thin 
broth,  made  of  butter,  milk  and  water,  to  keep  death 
away  as  hmg  as  possible.  When  the  provisions  were 
so  reduced  that  there  were  only  sufticient  for  thirteen 
men  for  ten  days,  even  of  the  thin  broth  with  four  tiny 
biscuits  each  per  day,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to 
hunt  up  the  missing  men.  They  might,  being  without 
a  leader,  have  been  reckless,  and  been  besieged  by  an 
overwhelming  force  of  vicious  dwarfs.  My  following 
consisted  of  sixty-six  men,  a  few  women  and  children, 
who,  more  active  than  the  others,  had  assisted  the  thin 
fluid  with  the  l^erries  of  the  phrynium  and  the 
amomum,  and  such  fungi  as  could  be  discovered  in 
damp  places,  and  therefore  were  possessed  of  some 
little  strength,  though  the  poor  fellows  were  terril)ly 
emaciated.  Fifty-one  men,  besides  boys  and  women, 
were  so  prostrate  with  debility  and  disease  that  they 
would  be  hopelessly  gone  if  within  a  few  hours  f(jod 
did  not  arrive.  My  white  comrade  and  thirteen  men 
were  assured  of  sufficient  for  ten  days  to  protract  the 
struggle  against  a  painful  death.  We  who  were  bound 
for  the  search  possessed  nothing.  We  could  feed  on 
berries  until  we  could  arrive  at  a  plantation.  As  we 
travelled  that  afternoon  w^e  passed  several  dead  bodies 
in  various  stages  of  decay,  and  the  sight  of  doomed, 
dying  and  dead  produced  on  my  nerves  such  a  feeling 
of  weakness  that  I  was  well-nigh  overcome.  Every 
soul    in    that    camp    was    paralysed    with    sadness    and 


4  IN   DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

suffering.  Despair  had  made  them  all  dumb.  Not 
a  sound  was  heard  to  disturb  the  deathly  brooding. 
It  was  a  mercy  to  me  that  I  heard  no  murmur  of 
reproach,  no  sign  of  rebuke.  I  felt  the  horror  of  the 
silence  of  the  forest  and  the  night  intensely.  Sleep 
was  impossible.  My  thoughts  dwelt  on  these  recurring 
disobediences  which  caused  so  much  misery  and 
anxiety.  "  Stiff-necked,  rebellious,  incorrigible  human 
nature,  ever  showing  its  animalism  and  brutishness,  let 
the  wTetches  be  for  ever  accursed  !  Their  utter  thought- 
less and  oblivious  natures  and  continual  breach  of 
promises  kill  more  men,  and  cause  more  anxiety,  than 
the   poison    of  the   darts   or  barbs  and  points  of  the 

arrows.     If   I  meet  them  I  will "     But  before  the 

resolve  was  uttered  flashed  to  my  memory  the  dead 
men  on  the  road,  the  doomed  in  the  camp,  and  the 
starvinfij  with  me,  and  the  thouofht  that  those  150 
men  were  lost  in  the  remorseless  woods  beyond  re- 
covery, or  surrounded  by  savages  without  hope  of 
escape,  then  do  you  wonder  that  the  natural  hardness 
of  the  heart  was  softened,  and  that  I  again  consigned 
my  case  to  Him  who  could  alone  assist  us.  The  next 
morning  within  half-an-hour  of  the  start  we  met  the 
foragers,  safe,  sound,  robust,  loaded,  bearing  four  tons 
of  plaintains.  You  can  imagine  wdiat  cries  of  joy  these 
wild  children  of  nature  uttered,  you  can  imagine  how 
they  flung  themselves  upon  the  fruit,  and  kindled  the 
fires  to  roast  and  l)<»il  and  l)ake,  and  how,  after  they 
were  all  filled,  wf  strode  baek  to  the  camp  to  rejoice 
those  uidoitiiiiates  with  Mi'.   r)oiiiiv. 

As  i  menially  I'eview  the  many  grim  episodes  and 
reflect  on  tlu^  marvellously  nai-row  escapes  from  utter 
destrnction  to  wliicli  we  liaxc  been  subjected  during 
oiir  \arious  jounie\'s  to  and  IVo  tln'oui;li  that  immense 
anil  'jloomy  extent  of  [iiinH  \al  woods,  1  t'eel  utterly 
unalih'  to  attiilmle  '»nr  saKation  to  an\'  other  cause 
tliaii  t<t  a  gracious  I'losKhMice  who  for  some  ])urp()se  of 
His  own  ()i'eserve(l  us.  All  ilir  ainiies  and  armaments 
of"  i'lurope  could  not  lia\c  lc;il  us  an\'  aid  \\\  the  dire 
extremity    in    which    we    I'ouutl    ((Ui'scKcs    m    that  camp 


PREFATORY  LETTER.  5 

between  the  Dui  and  Ihuru  ;  an  army  of  explorers  eould 
not  liave  traced  our  course  to  the  scene  of  the  hist 
struggle  had  we  fallen,  for  deep,  deep  as  utter  ol)liviou 
had  we  been  surely  buried  under  the  liunius  of  the 
trackless  wilds. 

It  is  in  this  humble  and  grateful  spirit  that  I  com- 
mence this  record  of  the  progress  of  the  Expedition 
from  its  inception  by  you  to  the  date  when  at  our  feet 
the  Indian  Ocean  burst  into  view,  pure  and  l)lue  as 
Heaven  when  we  might  justly  exclaim  "  It  is  ended  !  " 

AVhat  the  pul)lic  ought  to  know,  that  have  I  written  ; 
])ut  there  are  many  things  that  the  snarling,  cynical, 
unbelievine:,  vulo;ar  ouo;ht  not  to  know.  I  write  to 
you  and  to  your  friends,  and  for  those  who  desire  more 
light  on  Darkest  Africa,  and  for  those  -who  can  feel  an 
interest  in  wliat  concerns  humanity. 

JVIy  creed  has  been,  is,  and  will  remain  so,  I  hope,  to 
act  for  the  best,  think  the  right  thought,  and  speak  the 
right  word,  as  Avell  as  a  good  motive  wdll  permit. 
When  a  mission  is  entrusted  to  me  and  my  conscience 
approves  it  as  noble  and  right,  and  I  give  my  promise 
to  exert  my  best  powers  to  fulfil  this  according  to  the 
letter  and  spirit,  I  carry  wdtli  me  a  Law,  that  I  am 
compelled  to  obey.  If  any  associated  with  me  prove 
to  me  by  their  manner  and  action  that  this  Law  is 
equally  incumbent  on  them,  then  I  recognize  my 
brothers.  Therefore  it  is  with  unqualified  delight  that 
I  acknowledge  the  priceless  services  of  my  friends 
Stairs,  Jephson,  Nelson  and  Parke,  four  men  whose 
devotion  to  their  several  duties  were  as  perfect  as 
human  nature  is  capable  of.  As  a  man's  epitaph  can 
only  be  justly  written  when  he  lies  in  his  sepulchre,  so 
I  rarely  attempted  to  tell  them  during  the  journey,  how 
much  I  valued  the  ready  and  prompt  obedience  of 
Stairs,  that  earnestness  for  work  that  distinguished 
Jephson,  the  brave  soldierly  qualities  of  Nelson,  and  the 
gentle,  tender  devotion  paid  by  our  Doctor  to  his  ailing 
patients  ;  but  now  that  the  long  wanderings  are  over,  and 
they  have  bided  and  laboured  ungrudgingly  throughout 
the  long  period,  I  feel  that  my  words  are  poor  indeed 


6  IN  DARKEST  AFBICA. 

when   I  need  tliem  to  express  in  full  my  lasting  obli- 
gations to  eacli  of  them. 

Concerning  those  who  have  fallen,  or  who  were 
turned  back  by  illness  or  accident,  I  will  admit,  with 
pleasure,  that  while  in  my  company  every  one  seemed 
most  capable  of  fulfilling  the  highest  expectations 
formed  of  them.  I  never  had  a  doubt  of  any  one 
of  them  until  Mr.  Bonny  poured  into  my  ears  the 
dismal  story  of  the  rear  column.  While  I  possess 
positive  proofs  that  both  the  Major  and  Mr.  Jameson 
were  inspired  by  loyalty,  and  burning  with  desire 
throu  hout  those  long  months  at  Yambuya,  I  have 
endeavoured  to  ascertain  why  they  did  not  proceed  as 
instructed  by  letter,  or  why  Messrs.  Ward,  Troup  and 
Bonny  did  not  suggest  that  to  move  little  by  little  was 
preferable  to  rotting  at  Yaml)uya,  which  they  were 
clearly  in  danger  of  doing,  like  the  100  dead  followers. 
To  this  simple  question  there  is  no  answer.  The  eight 
visits  to  Stanley  Falls  and  Kasongo  amount  in  the 
aggregate  to  1,200  miles  ;  their  journals,  log  books,  letters 
teem  with  proofs  that  every  element  of  success  was 
in  and  w4th  them.  I  cannot  understand  why  the  five 
officers,  having  means  for  moving,  confessedly  burning 
with  the  desire  to  move,  and  animated  with  the  highest 
feelings,  did  not  move  on  along  our  tract  as  directed  ;  or, 
why,  believing  I  was  alive,  the  officers  sent  my  personal 
l)aggage  down  river  and  reduced  their  chief  to  a  state 
of  destitution  ;  oi'.  why  they  should  send  European 
riujK'd  provisions  and  two  dozen  bottles  of  Madeira 
•  low  II  river,  when  there  were  thirty-three  men  sick  and 
liungry  in  camp  ;  or,  wliy  Mr.  i^onny  should  allow 
liisown  rati<Mis  to  be  sent  down  whih'  he  was  present; 
or,  \\h\'  Mr.  Ward  should  he  sent  down  river  with 
a  despatch,  ;itid  an  oiihT  he  sent  alter  him  to 
prevent  his  ictiiin  lo  the  lv\|)cdit  ion.  These  are  a 
few  of  the  [trolih'nis  which  |)u/,/Jc  nic,  and  to  which 
I  ha\'c  l)ccn  uiiahh'  t<»  ohtain  satisfactory  solutions. 
Had  aii\'  other  [tcrsoii  inloiincd  inc  tliat  sucli  things 
had  taken  [thicc  |  shouhl  ha\c  (h»ulitc<l  them,  but 
I     take   my    inloi mat  ion    soK'ly    from    !\Iaj(»i-    Harttelot's 


PREFATORY  LETTER.  7 

official  despatch  (See  Appendix).  The  telegram  which 
Mr.  Ward  conveyed  to  the  sea  requests  instructions 
from  the  London  Committee,  but  the  gentlemen  in 
London  reply,  "  We  refer  you  to  Mr.  Stanley's  letter  of 
instructions."  It  l)ecomes  clear  to  every  one  that  there 
is  a  mystery  here  for  which  I  cannot  conceive  a  rational 
solution,  and  therefore  each  reader  of  this  narrative 
must  think  his  own  thoughts  but  construe  the  whole 
charitably. 

After  the  discovery  of  Mr.  Bonny  at  Banalya,  I  had 
frequent  occasions  to  remark  to  him  that  his  goodwill 
and  devotion  were  equal  to  that  shown  by  the  others, 
and  as  for  bravery,  I  think  he  has  as  much  as  the 
l)ravest.  With  his  performance  of  any  appointed  work 
I  never  had  cause  for  dissatisfaction,  and  as  he  so 
admirably  conducted  himself  with  such  perfect  and 
resj)ectful  obedience  while  Avith  us  from  Banalya  to  the 
Indian  Sea,  the  more  the  mystery  of  Yambuya  life  is 
deepened,  for  with  2,000  such  soldiers  as  Bonny  under 
a  competent  leader,  the  entire  Soudan  could  be  sub- 
jugated, pacified  and  governed. 

It  must  thoroughly  be  understood,  however,  while 
reflecting  upon  the  misfortunes  of  the  rear-column,  that 
it  is  my  firm  belief  that  had  it  been  the  lot  of  Barttelot 
and  Jameson  to  have  been  in  the  place  of,  say  Stairs  and 
Jephson,  and  to  have  accompanied  us  in  the  advance, 
they  would  equally  have  distinguished  themselves  ;  for 
such  a  group  of  young  gentlemen  as  Barttelot,  Jameson, 
Stairs,  Nelson,  Jephson,  and  Parke,  at  all  times,  night  or 
day,  so  eager  for  and  rather  loving  work,  is  rare.  If  I 
were  to  try  and  form  another  African  State,  such  tire- 
less, brave  natures  would  be  simply  invaluable.  The 
misfortunes  of  the  rear-column  were  due  to  the  resolu- 
tions of  August  17th  to  stay  and  wait  for  me,  and  to 
the  meeting  with  the  Arabs  the  next  day. 

What  is  herein  related  about  Emin  Pasha  need  not,  I 
hope,  be  taken  as  derogating  in  the  slightest  from  the  high 
conception  of  our  ideal.  If  the  reality  differs  somewhat 
from  it  no  fiiult  can  be  attributed  to  him.  While  his 
people  were  faithful  he  was  equal  to  the  ideal ;   when 


8  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

his  soldiers  revolted  his  usefulness  as  a  Governor 
ceased,  just  as  the  cabinet-maker  with  tools  may  turn 
out  finished  wood-work,  but  without  them  can  do 
nothing  If  the  Pasha  was  not  of  such  gigantic  stature 
as  we  supposed  him  to  l)e,  he  certainly  cannot  be  held 
responsible  for  that,  any  more  than  he  can  be  held 
accountable  for  his  unmilitary  appearance.  If  the 
Pasha  was  able  to  maintain  his  province  for  five  years, 
he  cannot  in  justice  be  held  answerable  for  the  wave 
of  insanity  and  the  epidemic  of  turbulence  which  con- 
verted his  hitherto  loyal  soldiers  into  rebels.  You  will 
find  two  special  periods  in  this  narrative  wherein  the 
Pasha  is  described  with,  strictest  impartiality  in  each, 
but  his  misfortunes  never  cause  us  to  lose  our  respect 
for  him,  though  we  may  not  agree  with  that  excess  of 
sentiment  which  distinguished  him,  for  objects  so  un- 
worthy as  sworn  rebels.  As  an  administrator  he  dis- 
played the  finest  qualities  ;  he  was  just,  tender,  loyal 
and  merciful,  and  affectionate  to  the  natives  wno  placed 
themselves  under  his  protection,  and  no  higher  and 
better  proof  of  the  esteem  with  which  he  was  regarded 
by  his  soldiery  can  be  desired  than  that  he  owed  his 
life  to  the  reputation  for  justice  and  mildness  which  he 
had  w(ni.  In  short,  every  hour  saved  from  sleep  was 
devoted  ])efore  his  final  deposition  to  some  useful 
purpose  conducive  to  increase  of  knowledge,  improve- 
ment of  humanity,  and  gain  to  civilization.  You  must 
remem]>er  all  these  thinfjs,  and  1)V  no  means  lose  sio:ht 
of  them,  even  wliile  you  read  our  impressions  of  him. 

I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  Mr.  ]\Iounteney 
Jcplison  wrote  tlic  kindliest  repoi't  of  tlie  events  that 
transpiicd  (hiring  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the 
Pasha  and  himself,  out  of  pure  affection,  sympathy,  and 
fellow-feeling  for  his  (Vienil.  Indeed  the  kindness  and 
sympa  hy  h<'  entertains  jor  llie  I*asha  are  so  evident 
that  I  playfully  accuse  liini  of  being  either  a  Mahdist, 
Arultist,  oi'  l^ininisl,  :is  one  w  Mild  naturally  feel 
indignant  ;it  I  lie  prospect  of  leading  a  slave's 
life  at  Kliaitouin.  'The  letters  of  Mr.  Jephson, 
after   being  shown,   were  endorsed,   as  will    be  seen    by 


PREFATORY  LETTER.  9 

Emin  Paslia.  Later  observations  proved  tlie  truth  of 
those  made  by  Mr.  Jephson  when  he  said,  "  Sentiment 
is  the  Pasha's  worst  enemy  ;  nothing  keeps  Emin  here 
but  Emin  himself."  What  I  most  admire  in  him  is 
the  evident  struggle  between  his  duty  to  me,  as  my 
agent,  and  the  friendship  he  entertains  for  the  Pasha. 

While  we  may  naturally  regret  that  Emin  Pasha  did 
not  possess  that  influence  over  his  troops  which  would 
have  commanded  their  perfect  obedience,  confidence  and 
trust,  and  made  them  pliable  to  the  laws  and  customs 
of  civilization,  and  compelled  them  to  respect  natives  as 
fellow-subjects,  to  be  guardians  of  peace  and  protectors 
of  property,  without  which  there  can  be  no  civilization, 
many  will  think  that  as  the  Governor  was  una})le  to  do 
this,  that  it  is  as  well  that  events  took  the  turn  they 
did.  The  natives  of  Africa  cannot  ])e  taught  that  there 
are  blessings  in  civilization  if  they  are  permitted  to  be 
oppressed  and  to  be  treated  as  unworthy  of  the  treat- 
ment due  to  human  beings,  to  be  despoiled  and  en- 
slaved at  will  by  a  licentious  soldiery.  The  habit  of 
regarding  the  aborigines  as  nothing  better  than  pagan 
ahid  or  slaves,  dates  from  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  must  be 
utterly  suppressed  before  any  semblance  of  civilization 
can  be  seen  outside  the  military  settlements.  When 
every  grain  of  corn,  and  every  fowl,  goat,  sheep  and 
cow  which  is  necessary  for  the  troops  is  paid  for  in 
sterling  money  or  its  equivalent  in  necessary  goods, 
then  civilization  wdll  become  irresistible  in  its  influence, 
and  the  Gospel  even  may  be  introduced ;  but  without 
impartial  justice  both  are  impossible,  certainly  never 
when  preceded  and  accompanied  by  spoliation,  which  I 
fear  was  too  general  a  custom  in  the  Soudan. 

Those  who  have  some  regard  for  righteous  justice 
may  find  some  comfort  in  the  reflection  that  until 
civilization  in  its  true  and  real  form  be  introduced  into 
Equatoria,  the  aborigines  shall  now  have  some  peace 
and  rest,  and  that  wdiatever  aspects  its  semblance  bare, 
excepting  a  few  orange  and  lime  trees,  can  l)e  replaced 
within  a  month,  under  higher,  better,  and  more  enduring 
auspices. 


10  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

If  during  this  Expedition  I  have  not  sufficiently 
manifested  the  reality  of  my  friendship  and  devotion 
to  you,  and  to  my  friends  of  the  Emin  Relief 
Committee,  pray  attribute  it  to  want  of  opportunities 
and  force  of  circumstances  and  not  to  lukewarmness  and 
insincerity  ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you  and  my 
friends  have  been  satisfied  that  so  far  as  lay  in  my 
power  I  have  faithfully  and  loyally  accomplished  the 
missions  you  entrusted  to  me  in  the  same  spirit  and 
to  the  same  purpose  that  you  yourself  would  have 
performed  them  had  it  been  physically  and  morally 
possible  for  you  to  have  been  with  us,  then  indeed  am 
I  satisfied,  and  the  highest  praise  would  not  be  equal 
in  my  opinion  to  the  simple  acknowledgment  of  it,  such 
as  "  Well  done." 

My  dear  Sir  William,  to  loA^e  a  noble,  generous  and 
loyal  heart  like  your  own,  is  natural.  Accept  the  pro- 
fession of  mine,  which  has  been  pledged  long  ago  to  you 
wholly  and  entirely. 

Henry  M.  Stanley. 

To  Sir  William  Mackinnon,  Bart., 
of  Balinakill  and  Loup, 
in  tlie  County  of  Are;ylesliire. 
The  Chairman  of  tlie  Emin  Pasha  Relief  Connnittee. 
&c.  &c.  &c. 


CHAPTER  1. 


INTRODUCTORY   CHAPTER. 

The  Khedive  and  the  Rondan — Arabi  Pasha— Hicks  Pasha's  defeat — The 
Mahdi — Sir  Evelyn  Baring  and  Lord  Granville  on  the  Soudan — 
Valentine  Baker  Pasha — General  Gordon:  his  woik  m  the  Upper 
Soudan— Edward  Sclmitzlcr  (or  Eniin  Etfendi  Ihxkim)  and  his  pro- 
vince— General  Gordon  at  Khartoum :  and  aceoimt  of  the  Belief 
Expedition  in  LSS4,  nnder  Lord  AVolseley — Mr.  A.  M.  Mackay,  the 
missionary  in  Uganda  —  Letters  from  Emin  Bey  to  Mr.  Mackay, 
Mr.  C.  H.  Allen,  and  Dr.  E.  \V.  Felkin,  relating  to  his  Province- 
Mr.  F.  Holm  wood's  and  Mr.  A.  M.  Mackay's  views  on  the  proposed 
relief  of  Emin — Suggested  routes  for  the  Emin  Belief  Expedition — ' 
Sir  Wm.  Mackinnon  and  Mr.  J.  E.  Hutton — The  Belief  Fund  and 
Preparatory  details  of  the  Expedition — Colonel  Sir  Francis  De  Winton 
— Selection  of  officers  for  the  Expedition — King  Leopold  and  tlie  Congo 
Route — Departure  for  Egypt. 

Only  a  Carlyle  in  liis  matiirest  period,  as  when  lie  drew 
in  lurid  colours  the  agonies  of  the  terrible  French 
Revolution,  can  do  justice  to  the  long  catalogue  of 
disasters  which  has  followed  the  connection  of  England 
with  Egypt.  It  is  a  theme  so  dreadful  throughout,  that 
Englishmen  shrink  from  touching  it.  Those  who  have 
written  upon  any  matters  relating  to  these  horrors 
confine  themselves  to  bare  historical  record.  No  one 
can  read  through  these  without  shuddering  at  the 
dangers  England  and  Englishmen  have  incurred  during 
this  pitiful  period  of  mismanagement.  After  the  Egyptian 
campaign  there  is  only  one  bright  gleam  of  sunshine 
throughout  months  of  oppressive  darkness,  and  that 
shone  over  the  immortals  of  Abu-Klea  and  Gubat, 
when  that  small  body  of  heroic  Englishmen  struggled 
shoulder  to  shoulder  on  the  sands  of  tlie  fatal  desert,  and 
won  a  glory  equal  to  that  which  the  Light  Brigade  were 
urged  to  gain  at  Balaclava.     Those  were  fights  indeed, 


12  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

and  atone  in  a  great  measure  for  a  series  of  blunders, 
that  a  century  of  history  would  fail  to  parallel.  If 
only  a  portion  of  that  earnestness  of  purpose  exhibited 
at  Abu-Klea  had  been  manifested  by  those  responsible 
for  ordering  events,  the  Mahdi  would  soon  have  become 
only  a  picturesque  figure  to  adorn  a  page  or  to  point  a 
metaphor,  and  not  the  terrible  portent  of  these  latter 
days,  whose  presence  blasted  every  vestige  of  civilization 
in  the  Soudan  to  ashes. 

In  order  that  I  may  make  a  fitting  but  brief  intro- 
duction to  the  subject  matter  of  this  book,  I  nmst 
necessarily  glance  at  the  events  which  led  to  the  cry  of 
the  last  surviving  Lieutenant  of  Gordon  for  help  in  his 
close  beleaguerment  near  the  Equator. 

To  the  daring  project  of  Ismail  the  Khedive  do  we 
owe  the  original  cause  of  all  that  has  befallen  Egypt 
and  the  Soudan.  With  5,000,000  of  sul)jects,  and  a 
rapidly  depleting  treasury,  he  undertook  the  expansion 
of  the  Egyptian  Khediviate  into  an  enormous  Egyptian 
Empire,  the  entire  area  embracing  a  superficial  extent  of 
nearly  1,000,000  square  miles — that  is,  from  the  Pharos 
of  Alexandria  to  the  south  end  of  Lake  Albert,  from 
Massowah  to  the  western  boundary  of  Darfur. 
Adventurers  from  Europe  and  from  America  resorted 
to  his  capital  to  suggest  the  maddest  schemes,  and 
volunteered  themselves  leaders  of  .the  wildest  enter- 
prises. The  staid  period  when  Egyptian  sovereignty 
ceased  at  Gondokoro,  and  the  Nile  was  the  natural  drain 
of  such  trafiif  as  found  its  way  by  the  gentle  pressure 
of  slow  development,  was  ended  when  Captains  Spekc 
and  (jJrant,  and  Sir  Samuel  Baker  brought  their  rapturous 
reports  of  magnificent  lakes,  and  regions  unmatched  for 
fertility  and  [)roductiv('.ness.  The  termination  of  the 
American  ('i\il  War  threw  numbers  of  military  ofiicers 
out  of  cinploynicnt ,  mikI  many  tlii'oiigcd  to  Egypt  to 
l(!nd  their  genius  to  tlic  niodci-n  IMiaraoli,  and  to  realize 
his  s|:)lendi<l  di'eains  of  cnipiic  iMiglislimen,  Germans, 
and  Italians,  appeared  also  to  share  in  the  honours  that 
were  showered  upon  the  bold  and  the  brave. 

W'liile    reading     caicrully     and     dispassionately    the 


ISMAIL    THE  KHEDIVE  AND    THE  SOUDAN.  13 

ainiiils  of  this  period,  admiring  the  breadth  of  the 
Khedive's  views,  the  enthusiasm  which  possesses  him, 
the  princely  liberality  of  his  rewards,  the  military 
exploits,  the  sudden  extensions  of  his  power,  and  the 
steady  expansions  of  his  sovereignty  to  the  south,  west, 
and  east,  I  am  struck  by  the  fact  that  his  success  as  a 
conqueror  in  Africa  may  well  be  compared  to  the 
successes  of  Alexander  in  Asia,  the  only  difference  being 
that  Alexander  led  his  armies  in  person,  while  Ismail 
the  Khedive  preferred  the  luxuries  of  his  palaces  in 
Cairo,  and  to  commit  his  wars  to  the  charge  of  his 
Pashas  and  Beys, 

To  the  Khedive  the  career  of  conquest  on  whi('h  he 
has  launched  appears  noble  ;  the  European  Press  applaud 
him  ;  so  many  things  of  grand  importance  to  civilization 
transpire  that  they  chant  pseans  of  praise  in  his  honour  ; 
the  two  seas  are  brought  together,  and  the  mercantile 
navies  ride  in  stately  columns  along  the  maritime  canal ; 
railways  are  pushed  towards  the  south,  and  it  is 
prophesied  that  a  line  will  reach  as  far  as  Berber.  But 
throughout  all  this  brilliant  period  the  people  of  this 
new  empire  do  not  seem  to  have  been  worthy  of  a 
thought,  except  as  sul)jects  of  taxation  and  as  instru- 
ments of  supplying  the  Treasury  ;  taxes  are  heavier  than 
ever  ;  the  Pashas  are  more  mercenary  ;  the  laws  are  more 
exacting,  the  ivory  trade  is  monopolised,  and  finally, 
to  add  to  the  discontent  already  growing,  the  slave 
trade  is  prohil)ited  throughout  all  the  territory  where 
Egyptian  authority  is  constituted.  Within  five  years 
8ij  Samuel  Baker  has  conquered  the  Equatorial  Province, 
Munzinger  has  mastered  Senaar,  Darfur  has  ])een 
annexed,  and  Bahr-el-Ghazal  has  been  subjugated  after  a 
m;)st  frightful  waste  of  life.  The  audacity  manifested 
in  all  these  projects  of  empire  is  perfectly  marvellous — 
almost  as  wonderful  as  the  total  absence  of  common 
sense.  Along  a  line  of  territory  800  miles  in  length 
there  are  only  three  military  stations  in  a  country  that 
can  only  rely  upon  camels  as  means  of  communication 
except  when  the  Nile  is  high. 

In  1879,  Ismail  the  Khedive  having  drawn  too  freely 


14  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

upon  the  banks  of  Europe,  and  increased  tlic  debt  of 
Egypt  to  £128,000,000,  and  unable  to  agree  to  the 
restraints  imposed  by  the  Powers,  the  money  of  whose 
subjects  he  had  so  liberally  squandered,  was  deposed, 
and  the  present  Khedive,  Tewfik,  his  son,  was  elevated  to 
his  place,  under  the  tutelage  of  the  Powers,  But 
shortly  after,  a  military  revolt  occurred,  and  at  Kassassin, 
Tel-el-Kebir,  Cairo,  and  Kafr  D(nvar,  it  was  crushed  by 
an  English  Army,  13,000  strong,  under  Lord  Wolseley. 
During  the  brief  sovereignty  of  Arabi  Pasha,  who 
headed  the  military  revolt,  much  mischief  was  caused 
by  the  withdrawal  of  the  available  troops  from  the 
Soudan.  While  the  English  General  was  defeating 
the  rebel  soldiers  at  Tel-el-Kebir,  the  Mahdi  Mohamet- 
Achmet  was  proceeding  to  the  investment  of  El  Obeid. 
On  the  23rd  of  August  he  was  attacked  at  Duem 
with  a  loss  of  4500.  On  the  14th  he  was  repulsed  by 
the  garrison  of  (Jbeid,  with  a  loss,  it  is  said,  of  10,000 
men.  These  immense  losses  of  life,  which  have  been 
continuous  from  the  11th  of  August,  1881,  when  the 
JMahdi  first  essayed  the  task  of  teaching  the  populations 
of  the  Soudan  the  weakness  of  Egyptian  power,  were 
from  the  tril)es  who  were  indifferent  to  the  religion 
professed  by  the  Mahdi,  but  who  had  been  robbed 
by  the  Egyptian  officials,  taxed  beyond  endurance  by 
tlic  (lovcrnmcnt,  and  who  had  been  prevented  from 
()l)laiiiing  means  bv  the  sale  of  slaves  to  pay  the  taxes, 
and  also  from  the  Imiidreds  of  slave-trading  caravans, 
wliose  occu])atioii  was  taken  from  them  by  their  energetic 
suppression  l)y  (Jordoii,  and  liis  Lieutenant,  Gessi  Pasha. 
From  the  1  Itli  of  Augusl.  ISSI,  to  tlic  4th  of  March, 
1883,  wlicn  Hicks  Pasha,  a  rclii-ed  Indian  oiliccr,  landed  at 
Kliartoum  as  Chief  of  tlic  Stall' of  tlic  Soudan  army,  the 
disasters  to  the  Govcninicnl  Iroops  had  been  almost  one 
unbi'okcn  seiics  ;  and,  in  the  nieanwhile,  the  factious 
and  mutinous  arniv  of  l^>g\|»t  had  icvolted,  l)een  sup- 
pressed and  (li-ltaiHlc(|,  ;iii(i  .'MHtthcr  ai'my  had  been 
reconstituted  un<lcr  Sir  Mveiyn  Wood,  which  was  not  to 
exceed  (JOOO  men.  ^Ct  aware  of  the  tremendous  power 
of  the   Mainli,  aipl    ihc   idinliincd    fanaticism  and   hate, 


THE  MAUD  I,   MOriAMET-ACllMKT.  15 

amounting  to  frenzy,  which  possessed  his  legions,  aiio  of 
the  instal)ility,  the  indiscipline,  and  cowardice  of  his 
troops — while  pleading  to  the  Egyptian  Government  for 
a  reinforcement  of  5000  men,  or  for  four  Ijattalions  of 
General  Wood's  new  army — Hicks  Pasha  resolves  upon 
the  conquest  of  Kordofan,  and  marches  to  meet  the 
victorious  Prophet,  while  he  and  his  hordes  are  flushed 
with  the  victory  lately  gained  over  Oljeid  and  Bara. 
His  staff,  and  the  very  civilians  accompanying  him,  pre- 
dict disaster ;  yet  Hicks  starts  forth  on  his  last  journey 
with  a  body  of  12,000  men,  10  mountain  guns,  6  Nor- 
denfelts,  5500  camels,  and  500  horses.  They  know  that 
the  elements  of  weakness  are  in  the  force  ;  that  many  of 
the  soldiers  are  peasants  taken  from  the  fields  in  Egypt, 
chained  in  gangs  ;  that  others  are  Mahdists  ;  that  there 
is  dissension  between  the  officers,  and  that  everything  is 
out  of  joint.  But  they  march  towards  Obeid,  meet  the 
Mahdi's  legions,  and  are  annihilated. 

England  at  this  time  directs  the  affairs  of  Egypt  with 
the  consent  of  the  young  Khedive,  whom  she  has  ])een 
instrumental  in  placing  upon  the  almost  royal  throne  of 
Egypt,  and  whom  she  is  interested  in  protecting.  Her 
soldiers  are  in  Egypt  ;  the  new  Egyptian  army  is  under 
an  English  General  ;  her  military  police  is  under  the 
command  of  an  English  ex-Colonel  of  cavalry ;  her 
Diplomatic  Agent  directs  the  foreign  policy  ;  almost  all 
the  principal  offices  of  the  State  are  in  the  hands  of 
Englishmen. 

The  Soudan  has  been  the  scene  of  the  most  fearful 
sanguinary  encounters  between  the  ill-directed  troops  of 
the  Egyptian  Government  and  the  victorious  tribes 
gathered  under  the  sacred  banner  of  the  Mahdi ;  and 
unless  firm  resistance  is  ofiered  soon  to  the  advance  of 
the  Prophet,  it  becomes  clear  to  many  in  England  that 
this  vast  region  and  fertile  basin  of  the  Upper  Nile  will 
be  lost  to  Egypt,  unless  troops  and  money  be  furnished 
to  meet  the  emergency.  To  the  view^  of  good  sense  it 
is  clear  that,  as  England  has  undertaken  to  direct  the 
government  and  manage  the  afi'airs  of  Egypt,  she  cannot 
avoid  declaring  her  policy  as  regards  the  Soudan.     To  a 


16  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

question  addressed  to  the  English  Prime  Minister  in 
ParHament,  as  to  whether  the  Soudan  was  regarded  as- 
forming  a  part  of  Egypt,  and  if  so,  whether  the  British 
Government  would  take  steps  to  restore  order  there, 
Mr.  Gladstone  replied,  that  the  Soudan  had  not  been 
included  in  the  sphere  of  English  operations,  and  that 
the  Government  was  not  disposed  to  include  it  within 
the  sphere  of  English  responsibility.  As  a  declaration 
of  policy  no  fault  can  be  found  with  it ;  it  is  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's policy,  and  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  against  it 
as  such  ;  it  is  his  principle,  the  principle  of  his  associates 
in  the  Government,  and  of  his  party,  and  as  a  principle 
it  deserves  respect. 

The  Political  Agent  in  Egypt,  Sir  Evelyn  Baring, 
while  the  fate  of  Hicks  Pasha  and  his  army  was  still 
unknown,  but  suspected,  sends  repeated  signals  of  warn- 
ing to  the  English  Government,  and  suggests  remedies 
and  means  of  averting  a  final  catastrophe.  "  If  Hicks 
Pasha  is  defeated,  Khartoum  is  in  danger ;  by  the  fall  of 
Khartoum,  Egypt  will  be  menaced." 

Lord  Granville  replies  at  various  times  in  the  months 
of  November  and  December,  1883,  that  the  Government 
advises  the  a])andonment  of  the  Soudan  within  certain 
limits ;  that  the  Egyptian  Government  must  take  the 
sole  responsibility  of  operations  beyond  Egypt  Proper ; 
that  the  (Jovcinment  has  no  intention  of  employing 
Ihitish  or  In<liaii  troops  in  the  Soudan  ;  that  ineffectual 
efforts  on  the  partof  the  Egyptian  ( i overnment  to  secure 
the  Soudan  would  only  increase  the  danger. 

Sir  lw('l\ii  I  faring  notified  Lord  (Trranville  that  no 
persuasion  oi-  argument  axailcd  to  iiKhicc  the  Egyptian 
.Minister  to  aecej)t  the  |)olic\'  of  abandonment,  (^hei'if 
I'aslia,  the  l*rime  Ministei-.  also  intbrmed  Lord  (ilranville 
that,  aceordiiiu-  to  N'aleutine  liaker  I'aslia,  the  means  at 
1  1h'  <lisj)osal  were  ullriK'  niaile(|Uale  foi'  ('01)111^  with  the 
insun-eet  ion  in  t  1m'  Soudan. 

Thru  l.onl  ( li;iu\  dii'  replied,  through  Sir  Evelyn 
l)aiinfr  that  it  was  indispensalile  that,  so  lonii;  as  En<i- 
lish  solcbeis  j)ro\isionalIv  occupied  I^igvj)t,  the  advice 
of  Her  Majesty's  Ministers  should   be   lollowed,  and  that 


BAKER   PASHA'S   DEFEAT  AT   TOKAR.  17 

he  insisted  on  its  adoption.  The  Egyptian  Ministers 
were  changed,  and  Nubar  Pasha  became  Prime  Minister 
on  the  10th  January,  1884. 

On  the  17th  December,  Valentine  Baker  departed  from 
Egypt  for  Suakim,  to  commence  military  operations 
for  the  maintenance  of  communication  between  Suakim 
and  Berber,  and  the  pacification  of  the  tril^es  in  that 
region.  While  it  was  absolutely  certain  in  England  that 
Baker's  force  would  suffer  a  crushing  defeat,  and  sus- 
pected in  Egypt,  the  General  does  not  seem  to  be  aware 
of  any  danger,  or  if  there  be,  he  courts  it.  The  Khedive, 
fearful  that  to  his  troops  an  engagement  will  be  most 
disastrous,  w^rites  privately  to  Baker  Pasha  :  "I  rely  on 
your  prudence  and  ability  not  to  engage  the  enemy 
except  under  the  most  favourable  conditions."  Baker 
possessed  ability  and  courage  in  abundance  ;  l)ut  the 
event  proved  that  prudence  and  judgment  were  as  absent 
in  his  case  as  in  that  of  the  unfortunate  Hicks.  His 
force  consisted  of  3746  men.  On  the  6tli  of  February  he 
left  Trinkitat  on  the  sea  shore,  towards  Tokar.  After  a 
march  of  six  miles  the  van  of  the  rebels  was  encountered, 
and  shortly  after  the  armies  were  engaged.  It  is  said 
"  that  the  rebels  displayed  the  utmost  contempt  for  the 
Egyptians  ;  that  they  seized  them  by  the  neck  and  cut 
their  throats  ;  and  that  the  Government  troops,  paralysed 
by  fear,  turned  their  backs,  suljmitting  to  be  killed  rather 
than  attempt  to  defend  their  lives  ;  that  hundreds  threw 
away  their  rifles,  knelt  down,  raised  their  clasped  hands, 
and  prayed  for  mercy." 

The  total  number  killed  was  2373  out  of  3746.  Mr. 
Royle,  the  excellent  historian  of  the  Egyptian  cam- 
paigns, says  :  "  Baker  knew,  or  ought  to  have  known,  the 
composition  of  the  troops  he  commanded,  and  to  take 
such  men  into  action  was  simply  to  court  disaster." 
What  ought  we  to  say  of  Hicks  ? 

We  now  come  to  General  Gordon,  who  from  1874  to 
1876  had  been  working  in  the  Upper  Soudan  on  the 
lines  commenced  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  conciliating 
natives,  crushing  slave  caravans,  destroying  slave  sta- 
tions,  and  extending   Egyptian   authority  by  lines    of 

VOL.  I.  0 


18 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


fortified  forts  up  to  the  Albert  Nyanza.  After  four 
niontlis'  retirement  he  was  appointed  Governor-General 
of  the  Soudan,  of  Darfur,  and  the  Equatorial  Provinces, 
Among  others  whom  Gordon  employed  as  Governors  of 
these  various  provinces  under  his  Vice-regal  Government 
was  one  Edward  Schnitzler,  a  German  born  in  Oppeln, 


KM  IN    lASlIA. 


Prussia,  28tli  March,  1840,  of  Jewisli  parents,  who  had 
seen  Hcrvicc,  iti  Turkey,  Armenia,  Syri;i,  and  Arabia,  in 
the  suite  of  Ism.iil  Il.ikki  P;isli;i,  one(>  ( Jovcrnor-Gencral 
of  Scutaii,  iiml  ;i  Miisliirof  I  lie  l^juipire.  On  the  death 
(»r  his  pjitroii  he  li;i(l  (lep;irte(l  lo  Ni(\sse,  where  his 
mother,  sistei'.  ;iii«l  coiisins  lived,  and  wlierc  he  stayed 
for   several   hkmiiIis,   .hhI  t  lie  nee  left  for  Egypt.     He,  in 


GENERAL    GORDON  AND  EDWARD   SCHNITZLER.      19 

1875,  thence  travelled  to  Khartoum,  and  being  a  medical 
doctor,  was  employed  by  Gordon  Pasha  in  that  capacity. 
He  assumed  the  name  and  title  of  Emin  Effendi  Hakim 
— the  faithful  physician.  He  was  sent  to  Lado  as  store- 
keeper and  doctor,  was  afterwards  despatched  to  King 
Mtesa  on  a  political  mission,  recalled  to  Kliartoum, 
again  despatched  on  a  similar  mission  to  King  Kabba- 
Rega  of  Unyoro,  and  finally,  in  1878,  was  promoted  to 
Bey,  and  appointed  Governor  of  the  Equatorial  Pro- 
vince of  Ha-tal-astiva,  which,  rendered  into  English, 
means  Equatoria,  at  a  salary  of  £50  per  month,  A 
mate  of  one  of  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  steamers, 
called  Lupton,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Governor 
of  the  Province  of  Bahr-el-Ghazal,  which  adjoined 
Equatoria. 

On  hearing  of  the  deposition  of  Ismail  in  1879, 
Gordon  surrendered  his  high  office  in  the  hands  of 
Tewfik,  the  new  Khedive,  informing  him  that  he  did  not 
intend  to  resume  it. 

In  1880  he  accepted  the  post  of  Secretary  under  the 
Marquis  of  Ripon,  but  resigned  it  within  a  month. 

In  1881  he  is  in  Mauritius  as  Commandant  of  the 
Royal  Engineers.  In  about  two  months  he  abandons 
that  post  to  proceed  to  the  assistance  of  the  Cape 
authorities  in  their  difficulty  with  the  Basutos,  but,  after 
a  little  experience,  finds  himself  unable  to  agree  with 
the  views  of  the  Cape  Government,  and  resigns. 

Meantime,  I  have  been  labouring  on  the  Congo  River, 
Our  successes  in  that  immense  territory  of  Western 
Africa  have  expanded  into  responsibilities  so  serious 
that  they  threaten  to  become  unmanagealjle.  When  I 
visit  the  Lower  Congo  affairs  become  deranged  on  the 
Upper  Congo  ;  if  I  confine  myself  to  the  Upper  Congo 
there  is  friction  in  the  Lower  Congo.  Wherefore,  feeling 
an  intense  interest  in  the  growth  of  the  territory  which 
was  rapidly  developing  into  a  State,  I  suggested  to  His 
Majesty  King  Leopold,  as  early  as  September,  1882,  and 
again  in  the  spring  of  1883,  that  I  required  as  an 
associate  a  person  of  merit,  rank,  and  devotion  to  work, 
such  as  General  Gordon,  who  would  undertake  either 


20  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

tlie  management  of  tlie  Lower  or  Upper  CV)ngo,  while  I 
would  work  in  the  other  section,  as  a  vast  amount  of 
valuable  time  was  consumed  in  travelling  up  and  down 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  young  officers  of  stations 
were  so  apt  to  take  advantage  of  my  absence.  His 
Majesty  promised  to  request  the  aid  of  General  Gordon, 
but  for  a  long  time  the  replies  were  unfavourable. 
Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1884,  I  received  a  letter  in 
General  Gordon's  well-known  handwriting,  which  in- 
formed me  I  was  to  expect  him  by  the  next  mail. 

It  appears,  however,  that  he  had  no  sooner  mailed 
his  letter  to  me  and  parted  from  His  Majesty  than  he 
was  besieged  by  applications  from  his  countrymen  to 
assist  the  Egyptian  Government  in  extricating  the 
beleaguered  garrison  of  Khartoum  from  their  impending 
fate.  Personally  I  know  nothing  of  what  actually 
happened  when  he  was  ushered  by  Lord  Wolseley  into 
the  presence  of  Lord  Granville,  but  I  have  been  in- 
formed that  General  Gordon  was  confident  he  could 
perform  the  mission  entrusted  to  him.  There  is  a 
serious  discrepancy  in  the  definiti(^n  of  this  mission. 
The  Egyptian  authorities  were  anxious  for  the  evacua- 
tion of  Khartoum  <mly,  and  it  is  possible  that  Lord 
Granville  only  needed  Gordon's  services  for  this  humane 
mission,  all  the  other  garrisons  to  be  left  to  their  fate 
because  of  the  supposed  impossibility  of  rescuing  them. 
The  Blue  Books  wliich  contain  the  official  despatches 
seem  to  confirm  the  probability  of  this.  I^)ut  it  is 
certain  that  fiOrd  Granville  instructed  General  Gordon 
to  pi-oc('('(l  to  Egypt  to  report  on  the  situation  of  the 
Sondan.  and  on  the  l)est  measures  that  should  be  taken 
for  the  security  of  the  Egyptian  garrisons  (in  the  plural), 
and  for  llic  safety  of  tlie  European  ])opulation  in 
Kliai'toum.  lie  was  to  perform  such  other  duties  as 
the  l']g\[)1  ian  ( J<»\ci  iinicnt  iniL^hl  wish  to  entrust  to  him. 
He  was  to  be  accom|)anie(l  hy  ( 'olonel  Stewart. 

Sir  Mx'eK'ii  i)aiin^,  after  a  prolongecl  convei'sation 
with  (lordon.  L:i\cshim  his  linal  inslrnclions  on  behalf  of 
tin;  lii'itish  ( Jo\crnment. 

A  precis  of  tlj(!sc  is  as  Ibllows  : — 


GENEttAl    OOiiDO^  AND   KHARTOtJM.  21 

1.  "  Ensure  retreat  of  the  European  population  from  10,000  to  15,000 
people,  and  of  the  garrison  of  Kartoura.'  * 

2.  "  You  know  best  tlie  when  and  how  to  effect  this." 

3.  "  You  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  main  end  (of  your  Mission)  is 
the  evacuation  of  the  Soudan." 

4.  "  As  you  are  of  opinion  it  could  be  done,  endeavour  to  make  a 
confederation  of  the  native  tribes  to  take  the  jilace  of  Egyptian  authority." 

5.  "  A  credit  of  £100,000  is  opened  for  you  at  the  Finance  Department." 

Gordon  has  succeeded  in  infusing  confidence  in  the 
minds  of  the  Egyptian  Ministry,  who  were  previously 
panic-stricken  and  cried  out  for  the  evacuation  of 
Khartoum  only.  They  breathe  freer  after  seeing  and 
hearing  him,  and  according  to  his  own  request  they 
invest  him  with  the  Governor-Generalship.  The  firman, 
given  him,  empowers  him  to  evacuate  the  respective 
territories  (of  the  Soudan)  and  to  withdraw  the  troops, 
civil  officials,  and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  wish  to 
leave  for  Egypt,  and  if  possi))le,  after  completing  the 
evacuation  (and  this  was  an  absolute  impossibility)  he 
was  to  establish  an  organized  Government.  With  these 
instructions  Lord  Granville  concurs. 

1  am  told  that  it  was  understood,  however,  that  he 
was  to  do  what  he  could — do  everything  necessary,  in 
fact,  if  possible  ;  if  not  all  the  Soudan,  then  he  was  to 
proceed  to  evacuating  Khartoum  only,  without  loss  of 
time.  But  this  is  not  on  official  record  until  March 
23rd,  1884,  and  it  is  not  known  whether  he  ever 
received  this  particular  telegram.f 

General  Gordon  proceeded  to  Khartoum  on  January 
26th,  1884,  and  arrived  in  that  city  on  the  18th  of  the 
following  month.  During  his  journey  he  sent  frec^uent 
despatches  by  telegraph  abounding  in  confidence.  Mr. 
Power,  the  acting  consul  and  Times  correspondent, 
wired  the  following  despatch — "  The  people  (of  Khar- 
toum) are  devoted  to  General  Gordon,  whose  design  is 
to  save  the  garrison,  and  for  ever  leave  the  Soudan — as 
perforce  it  must  be  left — to  the  Soudanese. 

*  No.  2  clashes  with  No.  3  somewhat.  Khartoum  and  the  Soudan  are 
not  synonymous  terms.  To  withdraw  the  garrison  of  Khartoum  is  an 
easy  task,  to  evacuate  the  Soudan  is  an  impossibility  for  a  single  person. 

t  This  is  the  only  clearly  wonted  despatch  that  I  have  been  able  to  iind 
in  the  Blue  Book  of  the  period. 


^'2  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

The  English  press,  which  had  been  so  wise  respecting 
the  chances  of  Valentine  Baker  Pasha,  were  very  much 
in  the  condition  of  the  people  of  Khartoum,  that  is, 
devoted  to  General  Gordon  and  sanguine  of  his  success. 
He  had  periormed  such  wonders  in  China — he  had 
laboured  so  effectually  in  crushing  the  slave-trade  in 
the  Soudan,  he  had  won  the  affection  of  the  sullen 
Soudanese,  that  the  press  did  not  deem  it  at  all 
improbable  that  Gordon  with  his  white  wand  and  six 
servants  could  rescue  the  doomed  garrisoijs  of  Senaar, 
Bahr-el-Ghazal  and  Equatoria — a  total  of  29,000  men, 
besides  the  civil  employees  and  their  wives  and  families  ; 
and  after  performing  that  more  than  herculean  — 
nay  utterly  impossible  task — establish  an  organized 
Government. 

On  February  29tli  Gordon  telegraphs,  "  There  is  not 
much  chance  of  improving,  and  every  chance  is  getting 
worse, '  and  on  the  2nd  cl  the  month  "  I  have  no  option 
aljout  staying  at  Khartoum,  it  has  passed  out  of  my 
hands."  On  the  16th  March  he  predicts  that  before 
long  "  we  shall  be  blocked."  At  the  latter  end  of  March 
he  telegraphs,  "  We  have  provisions  for  five  months,  and 
are  hemmed  in." 

It  is  clear  that  a  serious  misunderstanding  had 
occurred  in  the  drawing  up  of  the  instructions  by 
Sir  Evelyn  Baring  and  their  comprehension  of  them  by 
(iciicral  (Jordon,  for  the  latter  expresses  himself  to  the 
f(jrmer  thus  : 

"  You  ask  me  to  state  cause  and  reason  of  my  intention 
for  my  staying  at  Khartoum.  I  stay  at  Khartoum 
])ecause  Ai'abs  liave  sliut  us  up,  and  will  not  let  us  out." 

Meantime  publi*-,  opinion  urged  on  the  British  Govern- 
ment tlic  uccessity  of  (Icspatcliing  an  Expedition  to 
witlidravv  General  (ioidon  IVo?n  Kliaiioum.  But  as  it 
was  understood  lielwceu  (Jeueial  Gordon  and  Lord 
(iranville  that  the  lonuei-'s  mission  was  for  the  purpose 
of  dispensing  wit  li  I  lie  services  of  lii'itish  troops  in  the 
Sou<lan,  and  as  ii  was  lis  declai'ed  policy  not  to  employ 
r^nglisli  oi-  Indian  iroops  in  I  lial  region,  the  (Jovernment 
were  naturally  rchulaut    to  yield    to   (lie  demand  ol"  the 


QENEBAl    0  OB  DON  AND   KlfAriTOUM.  23 

public.  At  last,  however,  as  the  clamour  iucreased  and 
Parliament  and  public  joined  in  affirming  that  it  was  a 
duty  on  the  country  to  save  the  brave  man  who  had  so 
willingly  volunteered  to  perform  such  an  important 
service  for  his  countrv,  ]\lr.  ( Gladstone  rose  in  the  House 
of  C\)minnns  on  the  5th  August  to  move  a  votii  of 
credit  to  undertake  operations  for  the  relief  of  (loidon. 

Two  routes  were  suggested  by  whidi  the  Kelief 
Expedition  could  approach  Khartoum — tlie  shoi't  cut 
across  the  desert  from  Suakini  to  Berber,  and  the  other 
by  the  Nile,  (ioi-don  expressed  his  preference  for  that 
up  the  Nile,  and  it  was  this  latter  route  that  the 
Commanding  (icneral  of  the  Relief  Expedition  adopted. 

On  the  18tli  September,  the  steamer  "Abbas,"  with 
Colonel  Stewart  ((jiordon's  companion),  Mr.  Power,  the 
Times  correspondent,  Mr.  Herbin,  the  French  (Vjnsul, 
and  a  number  of  Greeks  and  Egyptians  on  board — forty- 
four  men  all  told — on  trying  to  pass  by  the  cataract 
of  Abu  Ilamid  was  wrecked  in  the  cataract.  The  Arabs 
on  the  shore  invited  them  to  land  in  peace,  l)ut  unarmed. 
Stewart  complied,  and  he  and  the  two  Consuls  (Power 
and  Herbin)  and  Hassan  Effendi  went  ashore  and  entered 
a  house,  in  which  they  were  immediately  murdered. 

On  the  17tli  Noveml)er,  Gordon  reports  to  Lord 
Wolseley,  who  was  then  at  Wady  Haifa,  that  he  can  hold 
out  for  forty  days  yet,  that  the  Mahdists  are  to  the 
south,  south-west,  and  east,  l)ut  not  to  the  north  of 
Khartoum. 

By  Christmas  Day,  1884,  a  great  part  of  the  Expedi- 
tionary Force  was  assembled  at  Korti.  So  far,  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Expedition  had  l)een  as  rapid  as  the  energy 
and  skill  of  the  General  commanclino;  could  command. 
Probably  there  never  was  a  force  so  numerous  animated 
with  such  noble  ardour  and  passion  as  this  under  Lord 
Wolseley  for  the  rescue  of  that  noble  and  solitary 
Englishman  at  Khartoum, 

On  December  30th,  a  part  of  General  Herbert  Stewart's 
force  moves  from  Korti  towards  Gakdul  Wells,  with 
2099  camels.  In  4G  hours  and  50  minutes  it  has 
reached  Gakdul  Wells  ;  1 1  hours  later  Sir  Herbert  Stewart 


24  TN  nAUKEsf  afhica. 

with  all  the  camels  starts  on  his  return  journey  to  Korti, 
which  place  was  reached  January  5tli.  On  the  12th 
Sir  Herbert  Stewart  was  l)ack  at  Gakdul  Wells,  and 
at  2  p.m.  of  the  13th  the  march  towards  Abu  Klea  was 
resumed.  On  the  17th,  the  famous  battle  of  Al)u 
Klea  was  fought,  resulting  in  a  hard-won  victory  to  the 
English  troops,  with  a  loss  of  9  officers  and  65  men 
killed  and  85  wounded,  out  of  a  total  of  1800,  while 
1100  of  the  enemy  lay  dead  before  the  square.  It  ap- 
pears probable  that  if  the  3000  English  sent  up  the 
Nile  Valley  had  been  with  this  gallant  little  force,  it 
would  have  Ijcen  a  mere  walk  over  for  the  English  army. 
After  another  battle  on  the  19  th  near  Metammeh,  where 
20  men  were  killed  and  60  wounded  of  the  English,  and 
250  of  the  enemy,  a  village  on  a  gravel  terrace  near  the 
Nile  was  occupied.  On  the  21st,  four  steamers  belonging 
to  General  Gordon  appeared.  The  officer  in  command 
stated  that  they  had  been  lying  for  some  weeks  near  an 
island  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  British  column.  The 
22nd  and  23rd  were  expended  by  Sir  Chas.  Wilson  in 
making  a  reconnaissance,  building  two  forts,  changing  the 
crews  of  the  steamers,  and  preparing  fuel.  On  the  24th, 
two  of  the  steamers  started  for  Khartoum,  carrying  only 
20  English  soldiers.  On  the  26th  two  men  came  aboard 
and  reported  that  there  had  been  fighting  at  Khartoum  ; 
oil  tlic  27tli  a  man  cried  out  from  tliel)ank  that  the  town 
hud  fallen,  and  that  Gordon  had  l)een  killed.  The  next  day 
the  last  news  was  confirmed  by  another  man.  Sir  Charlea 
Wilson  steaiiHMl  on  until  his  steamers  became  the  target 
of  cannon  from  Omdurman  and  from  Khartoum,  besides 
rifles  from  a  distance  of  from  75  to  200  yards,  and  turned 
Ijack  only  when  convinced  that  the  sad  news  was  only 
too  true.  Steaming  down  liver  then  at  full  speed  he 
reached  Tanianieb  when  lir  halted  for  the  night.  From 
here  he  sent  out  two  nicsscngers  to  collect  news.  One 
r<'tiirnc(l  saying  ili.it  he  had  iiict  nil  Arab  who  informed 
liiiii  that,  Khai'lomn  had  Itccii  entered  on  the  night  of  the 
26tJi  .lannaiy  through  tlie.  (rcacheiy  of  Farag  Tasha,  and 
that  (*or(lon  was  l<ine(l  ;  thai  the  Malnli  hati  on  the  next 
day  eutere<l  the  city  and    had   gone  into  a  nioscjue  to  re- 


BATTLE  OF  ABV  KLEA  ANP  NKWSi  OP  flOnnoN  S  DEATH.  25 

turn  thanks  and  had  then  retired,  and  had  given  the  eity 
up  to  three  days'  pillage. 

In  Major  Kitchener's  report  we  find  a  summary  of  the 
results  of  the  taking  of  Khartoum.  ''  Tlie  massacre  in 
the  town  lasted  some  six  hours,  and  a])out  4000  persons 
at  least  were  killed.  The  Bashi  Bazouks  and  white 
regulars  numbering  3327,  and  the  Shaigia  irregulars 
numbering  2330,  were  mostly  all  killed  in  cold  blood 
after  they  had  surrendered  and  been  disarmed."  The 
surviving  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  ordered  out,  and 
as  they  passed  through  the  gate  were  searched,  and  then 
taken  to  Omdurman  where  the  women  were  distributed 
among  the  Mahdist  chiefs,  and  the  men  were  stripped  and 
turned  adrift  to  pick  a  living  as  they  could.  A  Greek 
merchant,  who  escaped  from  Khartoum,  reported  that  the 
town  was  betrayed  by  the  merchants  there,  who  desired 
to  make  terms  with  the  enemy,  and  not  by  Farag  Pasha. 

Darfur,  Kordofan,  Senaar,  Bahr-el-Ghazal,  Khartoum, 
had  been  possessed  by  the  enemy  ;  Kassala  soon  followed, 
and  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Soudan 
there  now  remained  only  the  Equatorial  Province,  whose 
Governor  was  Emin  Bey  Hakim — the  Faithful  Physician. 

Naturally,  if  English  people  felt  that  they  were  in 
duty  bound  to  rescue  their  brave  countryman,  and  a 
gallant  General  of  such  genius  and  reputation  as  Gordon, 
they  would  feel  a  lively  interest  in  the  fate  of  the  last  of 
Gordon's  Governors,  who,  by  a  prudent  Faljian  policy, 
it  was  supposed,  had  evaded  the  fate  which  had  befallen 
the  armies  and  garrisons  of  the  Soudan.  It  follows  also 
that,  if  the  English  were  solicitous  for  the  salvation  of 
the  garrison  of  Khartoum,  they  would  feel  a  propor- 
tionate solicitude  for  the  fate  of  a  brave  officer  and  his 
little  army  in  the  far  South,  and  that,  if  assistance  could 
be  rendered  at  a  reasonable  cost,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  raising  a  fund  to  effect  that  desiral)le  object. 

On  November  16,  1884,  Emin  Bey  informs  Mr.  A.  M. 
Mackay,  the  missionary  in  Uganda,  by  letter  written  at 
Lado,  that  "  the  Soudan  has  become  the  theatre  of  an 
insurrection  ;  that  for  nineteen  months  he  is  without 
news   from    Khartoum,   and   that   thence  he    is   led    to 


26  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA, 

believe  that  tlie  town  has  been  taken  by  the  insurgents, 
or  that  the  Nile  is  blocked  "  ;  but  he  says  : — 

"  Whatever  it  proves  to  be,  please  inform  your  correspondents  and 
through  them  the  Egyptian  Government  that  to  tliis  day  we  are  well,  and 
that  we  propose  to  hold  out  until  help  may  reach  us  or  until  we  perish." 

A  second  note  from  Emin  Bey  to  the  same  missionary, 
on  the  same  date  as  the  preceding,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

"  The  Bahr-  Gha^^al  Province  being  lost  and  Lupton  Bey,  the  covornor, 
carried  away  to  Kordofixn,  we  are  unable  to  inform  our  Government  of 
what  happens  here.  For  nineteen  months  we  liave  had  no  communication 
from  Khartoum,  so  I  suppose  the  river  is  blocked  up." 

"  Please  therefore  inform  the  Egyptian  Government  by  some  means  that 
we  are  well  to  this  day,  but  greatly  in  need  of  help.  We  shall  hold  out 
until  we  obtain  such  help  or  until  we  perish." 

To  Mr.  Charles  H.  Allen,  Secretary  of  the  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  Emin  Bey  writes  from  Wadelai,  De- 
cember 31,  1885,  as  follows  : — 

"Ever  since  the  month  of  May,  1883,  we  have  been  cut  off  from  all 
communication  with  the  world.  Forgotten,  and  abandoned  by  the 
Government,  we  have  been  compelled  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity. 
Since  the  occupation  of  the  B  ihr-Ghazal  we  have  been  vigorously 
attacked,  and  I  do  not  know  how  to  describe  to  yon  the  admirable 
devotion  of  my  black  troops  througliout  a  long  war,  which  for  them  at 
least,  has  no  advantage.  Deprived  of  the  most  necessary  things  for  a  long 
time  witliout  any  pay,  my  men  fought  valiantly,  and  when  at  last 
hunger  weakencil  them,  when,  after  nineteen  days  of  incredible  privation 
and  sufferings,  their  strength  was  exhausted,  and  when  the  last  torn 
luatlier  of  the  last  boot  had  been  eaten,  then  they  cut  away  through  the 
midst  of  their  enemies  and  succeeded  in  saving  themselv(;s.  All  this 
hardship  was  undergone  witliout  the  least  (irrwre-penm'.,  without  even  the 
hoj)e  (jf  any  apprecialtle  ruwai'd,  jn-ompted  only  by  their  duty  and  the 
desire  of  showing  a  projier  valour  before  their  enemies." 

Tliis  is  a  noble  iccord  of  valour  and  military  virtue. 
I  reniendtcr  the  appcai-ance  of  this  letter  in  the  T'lvies, 
and  tlie  impression  it  made  on  myself  and  friends.  It 
was  only  a  few  days  aftci-  the  appeai'aiice  of  this  letter 
that  we  be<i;an  t-o  discuss  ways  and  means  of  relief  for 
the  writer. 

The  follovvino;  letter  also  impressed  me  very  strongly. 
It  is  wiitten  to  \)v.  \i.  W,  Felkin  on  the  same  date, 
Deceml)er  31,  188.0. 

•  *•»** 

"  You  will  prubaldy  kM(iW  through  the  .daily  papers  that  jjoor  Luptou, 


lETTEJtS  PnOM  EMIN  BEY  IN  1885-6.  27 

after  having  bravely  held  the  Bahr-Ghazal  Province  was  compelled,  through 
the  treaeliery  of  his  own  peoi)le,  to  surrender  to  the  emissaries  of  the  late 
Madhi,  and  was  carried  by  them  to  Kordofan." 

"  My  province  and  also  myself  I  only  saved  from  a  like  fate  by  a 
stratagem,  but  at  last  I  Avas  attacked,  and  many  losses  in  both  men  and 
ammunition  were  the  result,  until  1  delivered  such  a  heavy  blow  to  tho 
reliels  at  Rimo,  in  Makraka.  that  compelled  tlieni  to  leave  me  alone. 
Before  this  took  place  they  informed  us  that  Khartoum  fell,  in  January, 

1885,  and  that  Gordon  was  killed." 

"  Naturally  on  account  of  these  occurrences  I  have  been  comiielled  to 
evacuate  our  more  distant  stations,  and  withdraw  onr  soldiers  and  their 
families,  still  hoping  that  our  Government  will  send  us  help.  It  seems, 
however,  that  1  have  deceived  mysell,  for  since  April,  1883,  I  have 
received  no  news  of  any  kind  from  the  north." 

"  Tlie  Government  in  Khartoum  did  not  behave  well  tons.  Before  they 
evacuated  Fashoda,  they  ought  to  have  remembered  that  Government 
officials  were  living  here  (Equatorial  Provinces)  who  had  ])crformed 
their  duty,  and  had  not  deserved  to  be  left  to  their  fate  without  more 
ado.  Even  if  it  were  the  intention  of  the  Government  to  deliver  us  over 
to  our  fate,  the  least  they  could  have  done  was  to  have  released  us  from 
our  duties ;  we  should  then  have  known  that  we  were  considered  to  have 
become  valueless." 

"  Anyway  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  seek  some  way  of  escape,  and  in 
the  first  place  it  was  urgent  to  send  news  of  our  existence  in  Egypt. 
With  this  object  in  view  I  went  south,  after  having  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  at  Lado,  and  came  to  Wadelai." 

*  M  ilf  *  ie  -if 

"  As  to  my  future  j)lans,  I  intend  to  hold  this  country  as  long  as 
possible.  I  hope  that  when  our  letters  arrive  in  Egvpt,  in  seven  or  eight 
months,  a  reply  will  be  sent  to  me  via,  Khartoum  or  Zanzibar.  If  the 
Egyptian  Government  still  exists  in  the  Soudan  we  naturally  expect 
them  to  send  us  help.  If,  however,  the  Soiidan  has  been  evacuated,  I 
shall  take  the  whole  of  the  people  towards  the  south.  I  shall  then  send 
the  whole  of  the  Egyptian  and  Khartoum  officials  via  Uganda  or  Karagwe 
to  Zanzibar,  but  shall  remain  myself  with  my  black  troops  at  Kabba- 
Eege's  until  the  Government  inform  me  as  to  their  wishes." 

This  is  very  clear  that  Emin  Pasha  at  this  time 
proposed  to  relieve  himself  of  the  Egyptian  officials, 
and  that  he  himself  only  intended  to  remain  until  the 
Egyptian  Government  could  communicate  to  him  its 
wishes.  Those  "  wishes  "  were  that  he  should  abandon 
his  province,  as  they  were  unable  to  maintain  it,  and 
take  advantage  of  the  escort  to  leave  Africa. 

In  a  letter  written   to  Mr.  Mackay  dated  July  Gth, 

1886,  Emin  says  : — 

"  In  the  first  place  believe  me  that  I  am  in  no  hurry  to  break  away 
from  here,  or  to  leave  those  countries  in  which  I  have  now  laboured  for 
ten  years." 

****** 

"  All  my  people,  but  especially  the  negro  troops,  entertain   a  strong 


2S  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

objection  against  a  march  to  the  south  and  thence  to  Egypt,  and  mean  to 
remain  here  imtil  they  can  be  taken  north.  Meantime,  if  no  danger 
overtakes  us,  and  our  ammunition  holds  out  for  some  time  longer,  I  mean 
to  follow  your  advice  and  remain  here  until  help  comes  to  us  from  some 
quarter.  At  all  events,  you  may  rest  assured  that  we  will  occasion  no 
disturbance  to  you  in  Uganda." 

"  I  shall  determine  on  a  march  to  the  coast  only  in  a  case  of  dire 
necessity.  There  are,  moreover,  two  other  routes  before  me.  One  from 
Kabba-Eega's  direct  to  Karagwe  ;  the  other  vm  Usongora  to  lhe  stations 
at  Tanganika.  I  hope,  however,  that  I  shall  have  no  need  to  make  use  of 
either." 

"  My  people  have  become  impatient  through  long  delay,  and  are 
anxiously  looking  for  help  at  last.  It  would  also  be  most  desirable  that 
some  Commissioner  came  here  from  Europe,  either  direct  by  the  Masai 
route,  or  from  Karagwe  via  Kabba-Eega's  country,  in  order  that  my  people 
may  actually  see  that  there  is  some  interest  taken  in  them.  I  would 
defray  with  ivory  all  expenses  of  such  a  Commission." 

"  As  I  once  more  repeat,  I  am  ready  to  stay  and  to  hold  these 
countries  as  long  as;  I  can  until  help  comes,  and  I  beseech  you  to  do  what 
you  can  to  hasten  the  arrival  of  such  assistance.  Assure  Mwauga  that  he 
has  nothing  to  fear  from  me  or  my  people,  and  that  as  an  old  friend  of 
Mtesa's  I  have  no  intention  to  trouble  him." 

In  the  a])()ve  letters  we  have  Emin  Bey's  views, 
wherein  we  gather  that  his  people  are  loyal — that  is 
they  are  oljedient  to  his  commands,  but  that  none  ot 
them,  judoino-  ivoiw  the  tenour  of  the  letters,  express 
any  inclination  to  return  to  Egypt,  excepting  the 
Egyptians.  He  is  at  the  same  time  pondering  upon 
the  routes  l)y  which  it  is  possible  to  retreat — elsewhere 
he  suggests  the  M()n))uttu  route  to  the  sea  ;  in  these 
letters  he  hints  at  Masai  I>and,  or  through  Unyoro, 
and  west  of  Uganda  to  Usongora,  and  thence  to  Tan- 
ganika I  If  none  of  llic  l)la(k  troo])s  intended  to  follow 
liiiii.  lie  fcrtaiiiU'  roiild  not  li;i\('  done  so  with  onl\'  the 
J'^g\'|)tiaii  otiicials  and  their  lainilics. 

From  the  followinu-  letters  from  the  Consul-General, 
1'".  llolmwood.  to  Sir  l''.\e|\n  llnring.  dated  September 
lijih  and  Septendier  L'7lli.  we.  gather  iMr.  Ilolniwood's 
views,  who,  I'loni  hi-  position  and  h)e;d  knowk'dge, 
wuH  \'er\'  eomitt'ten!    to    liHiiish    iiditrmal  ion   as  to   what 

eonhl    lie  doni'    Ml    lhe   \\;i\-  (d'lhe    |i|-o|tosed    iclief. 

"  In  llniiii'K  Jclbtrs  iu  nic  lie.  only  rrpdits  liis  situation  \\\)  to  'J7th 
Ffliruary,  IHHC),  when  In:  propowd  cVHcuating  his  jirovincc  by  detacii- 
nnnts,  tlio  lirst  of  wliidi  lir  pniposid  to  (I(s|iii1cli  at  tlu'  riosc  of  th(!  rains 
toward  the  end  of  July;  but  l«>lli  l>r.  Junkt  r  iiml  Mr.  Miickuy  inlorni  me 


EMIN  bey's    views    (>E   Ills    I'EOrJ.E.  29 

that  they  have  since  heard  from  Emin  tliat  the  majority  of  the  4000 
loyal  Egyptian  subjects  who  have  remained  faithful  to  Egypt  tliroiighout, 
and  have  supported  him  in  the  face  of  tlie  constant  attacks  from  the 
Mahdi's  adherents,  aggravated  by  an  imminent  danger  of  starvation, 
refuse  to  leave  their  country,  and  he  liad  therefore  determined,  if  he 
conld  jiossibly  do  so,  to  remain  at  his  post,  and  continue  to  protect 
Egyi)tian  interests  till  relief  arrived." 

"Were  Uganda  freed  from  this  tyrant  (Mwanga),  the  Equatorial 
Province,  even  should  the  present  elementary  system  of  communication 
remain  unnioditied,  would  be  within  eight  weeks'  post  of  Zanzibar,  and  a 
safe  depot  on  the  Albert  Nyanza  would  provide  a  base  for  any  further 
operations  that  might  be  decided  upon." 

"  Dr.  Junker  states  that  the  country  to  the  east  of  the  Ripon  Falls* 
has  proved  impracticable,  and  that  Emin  has  lost  many  troops  in  en- 
deavouring to  open  communication  through  it.  If  such  be  the  case  the 
alternative  line  by  which  Dr.  Fischer  tried  to  relieve  Junker,  and  which 
I  believe  he  still  recommends,  could  not  be  relied  on  for  turning  Uganda 
and  its  eastern  dependency,  and  the  well-known  route  via  Uganda  would 
be  the  only  one  available  tor  an  Expedition  of  moderate  size." 

^  *  4c  ^  >!<:  ^ 

"  As  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge,  without  making  any  special  calculation, 
I  consider  that  1200  porters  would  be  the  smallest  number  that  would 
suffice,  and  a  well-armed  guard  of  at  least  500  natives  would  be 
necessary." 

^  4c  4c  4c         '  4;  4t 

"  (leneral  Matthews,  whom  I  had  consulted  as  to  the  fori^e  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  Expedition,  is  of  opinion  that  I  have  formed  far  too 
low  an  estimate,  but  after  weighing  the  testimony  of  many  experienced 
persons  acquainted  with  Uganda,  I  must  adhere  to  my  opinion  that  500 
native  troops  armed  with  modern  rifles  and  under  experienced  persons, 
would,  ]f  supplemented  by  the  irregular  force,  fully  suffice." 

An  American  officer  of  the  Khedivial  Government 
writes  to  Mr,  Portal,  and  suggests  that  communication 
with  Emin  might  be  opened  by  the  Zanzibar  Arabs,  but 
that  to  send  stores  and  ammunition  to  him  was  im- 
possible ;  that  the  Arabs  might  manage  for  his  passage, 
though  his  safest  line  of  retreat  was  westward  to  reach 
the  Congo. 

Mr.  Fred  Holm  wood,  in  his  despatch  to  the  Foreign 
Office  of  September  23rd,  1886,  writes  that,  "had  it 
not  been  for  the  dangerous  attitude  of  the  King  of 
Uganda,  the  question  of  relieving  Emin  would  have 
l)een  merely  one  of  expenditure  to  be  settled  at  Cairo ; 
but  under  present  circumstances,  many  other  serious 
considerations  are  involved  in  it  which  will  have  to  be 
referred  to  Her  Majesty's  Government. 

*  This  route  would  be  through  Masai  Land. 


30  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

"  I  would  call  attention  to  the  account  contained  in 
Mr.  Mackay's  letter  regarding  the  alternative  route  to 
Wadelai  wliicli  Dr.  Fischer  endeavoured  to  take  and,  I 
believe,  still  recommends.  If  this  statement  be  correct, 
any  attempt  to  turn  Uganda  or  its  Eastern  dependency 
by  this  unexplored  line  would  probably  fail." 

Mr.  A.  M.  Mackay  writes  from  Uganda,  May  14th, 
1886  :— 

"From  Dr.  Junker's  letter  you  will  have  seen  that  Emin  Bey  has  had 
the  good  fortune  to  liave  secured  the  loyalty  of  the  people  he  governs. 
Emin  seems  to  have  learned  Gordon's  secret  of  securing  the  atfection  of 
his  subjects,  and  has  hravely  stuck  to  tliem.  Tliere  can  be  no  doubt 
at  all  but  that  had  he  been  anxious  to  leave  he  would  with  a  few  hundred 
of  his  soldiers  have  easily  made  a  dash  for  the  coast  either  through  the 
Masai  Land  or  this  way,  asking  no  permission  from  Mwanga  (King  of 
Uganda)  or  anyone  else.  He  knows  that  there  is  no  power  here  able  to 
stop  him.  In  fact  years  ago  he  wrote  me  that  it  would  be  nothing 
to  him  to  storm  this  wretched  village  and  drive  off  the  cattle." 

"  But  what  would  be  the  fate  of  thousands  of  people  who  liave 
remained  loyal  on  the  Upper  Nile  ?  Dr.  Junker  speaks  of  thousands. 
They  do  not  want  to  be  taken  out  of  their  own  fertile  country,  and  taken 
to  the  deserts  of  Uj^per  Egypt." 

"  Dr.  Emin  is  on  all  hands  allowed  to  be  a  wise  and  able  Governor. 
But  he  cannot  remain  for  ever  where  he  is,  nor  can  he  succeed  himself, 
even  should  the  Mahii's  troops  leave  him  nndistiirbed  in  the  future. 
His  peculiar  position  should  be  taken  advantage  of  by  our  country,  whicli 
undertook  to  resc-ue  the  garrisons  of  the  Soudan." 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

"  Mwanga's  action  with  respect  to  the  letters  forwarded  him  for 
Dr.  Emin,  was  as  disrespectful  as  possible  to  the  British  Government 
wliich  liad  received  with  such  kindness  his  fathei's  envoys.  We  asked 
liim  merely  to  forward  the  letters  in  the  first  place  until  he  should 
receive  word  from  Emin  as  to  whether  or  not  he  was  prepared  to  come 
this  way,  but  lie  detained  your  packet  altogether." 

In  Mr.  Mackay's  letter  to  Rir  John  Kirk,  June  28th, 
18SG,  he  says  : — 

"  Dr.  Fischer's  difficulties  would  also  only  really  begin  after  Kavirondo, 
as  he  then  had  tin;  country  of  the  dreaded  Bakedi  to  cross,  and  Dr. 
Junker  tells  iik;  that  whole  ])arties  of  Dr.  Emin's  soldiers  have  been 
rcfK-'atedly  inurdrpil  by  then:." 

l)r.  I*'i.scli('r,  il  will  Ix'  i('ni('ni])ered,  was  engaged  to 
proceed  to  K(|ii;if()ii;i  in  scaivh  of  Dr.  Junker  by  that 
traveller's  luol  licr,  .iihI  diose  the  road  via  East  coast  of 
the  Victoria  Lake.  Aiiiviiig  at  tlie  N.E.  corner  of  the 
Lak(;  Im'  rctuiiH'il  lo  the  coast. 

Mr.  .\bick;iy  piKcccdH  :  — 


LETTERS   FROM  MR.   A.    M.   MACK  AY,  31 

"  Dr.  Junker  is  living  here  with  lis.  He  brought  me  a  letter  from  Emin 
Bey  dated  the  27th  January  (1886).  He  then  proposed  sending  his  people 
at  once  this  way — some  4000 — in  small  detachments.  This  policy  would 
be  fatal.  He  also  asked  me  to  go  to  meet  him  with  a  view  to  l)ringing 
here  two  steamers  which  otherwise  he  would  have  to  abandon.  One  of 
them  he  meant  for  the  King,  and  the  other  for  the  mission." 

"  Since  then,  however,  he  finds  that  his  people,  officers  and  men,  refuse 
to  leave  the  Soi;daa,  hence  he  is  prepared  to  remain  some  years  with 
them  provided  only  he  can  get  supplies  of  cloth,  etc." 

Mr.  Mackay  always  writes  sensibly,  I  obtained  a 
great  deal  of  solid  information  from  these  letters. 

Naturally  he  writes  in  the  full  belief  that  Emin's 
troops  are  loyal.  We  all  shared  in  this  belief.  We 
now  see  that  we  were  grossly  misled,  and  that  at  no 
time  could  Emin  have  cut  his  way  to  the  coast  through 
Uganda  or  any  other  country  with  men  of  such  fibre  as 
his  ignorant  and  stolid  Soudanese. 

Mr.  Joseph  Thomson,  in  a  letter  to  the  Times, 
suggested  a  route  through  the  Masai  Land,  and  proposed 
to  be  responsil)le  for  the  safe  conduct  of  a  Relief  Expe- 
dition through  that  country. 

Mr.  J.  T^  Wills  suggested  that  the  Mobangi-Welle 
would  prove  an  excellent  way  to  Emin. 

Mr.  Harrison  Smith  expressed  himself  assured  that  a 
way  by  Abyssinia  would  be  found  feasible. 

Another  gentleman  interested  in  the  African  Lakes 
Company  proposed  that  the  Expedition  should  adopt 
the  Zambezi-Shire-Nyassa  route,  and  thence  via  Tanga- 
nika  north  to  Muta  Nzige  and  Lake  Albert,  and  a 
missionary  from  the  Tanganika  warmly  endorsed  it,  as 
not  presenting  more  difficulties  than  any  other. 

Dr.  Felkin,  in  the  '  Scottish  Geographical  Magazine,' 
after  examining  several  routes  carefully,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  a  road  west  of  Lake  Victoria  and  Ka- 
ragwe,  through  Usongora  to  Lake  Albert,  possessed 
some  advantages  over  any  other. 

Early  in  October,  1886,  Sir  William  Mackinnon  and 
Mr.  J.  F.  Button,  ex-President  of  the  Manchester 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  had  spoken  with  me  respecting 
the  possibilities  of  conveying  relief  to  Emin,  with  a 
view  to  enable  him  to  hold  his  own.  To  them  it  seemed 
that  he  only  required  ammunition,  and  I  shared  their 


32  7^   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

opinion,  and  they  were  very  earnest  in  their  intention 
to  collect  funds  for  the  support  he  required.  But  many 
of  their  friends  were  al^sent  from  town,  and  they  could 
not  decide  alone  what  should  be  done  without  consulta- 
tion. We  discussed  estimates  and  routes,  and  Mr 
Hutton  informs  me  that  the  rough  estimate  I  furnished 
hmi  then  exceeds  by  £500  the  actual  cost  of  the 
Expedition. 

As  for  routes,  I  intimated  to  them  that  there  were 
four  almost  equally  feasible. 

The  first,  via  Masai  Land,  was  decidedly  objectionable 
while  carrying  a  vast  store  of  ammunition  which  aljso- 
lutely  must  reach  Emin.  Mr  Thomson  had  tried  it, 
and  his  account  of  the  extremities  to  which  he  was  driven 
on  returning  from  the  Lake  Victoria,  for  want  of  water 
and  grain,  were  extremely  unfavourable  In  proceeding  to 
the  lake  his  people  were  dispirited,  and  deserted  in  such 
numbers  that  he  was  obliged  to  return  a  short  distance, 
to  Kilima  Njaro,  leave  his  camp  there,  and  proceed  with  a 
few  men  back  to  the  coast  to  recruit  more  men.  In  case 
of  a  pressing  necessity  like  this  it  would  be  extremely 
unwise  to  return  a  mile  after  commencing  the  march. 
The  tendency  of  the  Zanzil)aris  to  desert  also  was 
another  disadvantage,  and  desertion  of  late  from  East 
(V)ast  Plxpeditions  had  assumed  alarming  proportions 
owing  to  the  impunity  with  which  they  could  decamp 
with  rifles  and  loads,  and  the  number  of  opportunities 
presented  to  them.  Many  of  the  Zanzi.baris  had  become 
jirofcssional  advance -jumpers,  and  the  greater  the 
expedition  tlie  greater  would  l»e  the  loss  in  money, 
rifles  and  stores. 

The  second,  v'ld  Victoria  Nyanza  and  Uganda,  which 
was  natiiT'nllv  the  best,  was  rcudei'ed  impossible  for  a 
small  expedition  l»cc;iiise  (»('  tlie  liostiliU'  of  Uganda. 
Even  this  lioslilitNcoiild  l>e  ;i\(ii(l('(l  if  there  were  any 
V(^ssels  on  Lake  \  i(tori;i  (•;i|).ilile  of  I  faiisporting  across 
the  lake  sue!)  ;iii  expedition  ;is  was  nee(lc(l.  'I'lic  danger 
of  d(\sertion  was  just  as  imminent  on  this  as  on  the  first. 

The  third  was  rn'i  Msalala,  Karan\\('  and  Ankori,  and 
Unyoro  ami    Lake  Alheii.      immense   loss  of  men  and 


BOUTES   SUGGESTED    FOB   EMIN's   BELIEF.  33 

goods  would  assuredly  follow  any  attempt  from  tlie 
East  Coast.  Fifty  per  cent,  loss  was  unavoidable,  and 
no  precautions  would  avail  to  prevent  desertion. 
Basides,  Karagwe'  was  garrisoned  by  the  Waganda,  and 
no  expedition  could  pass  through  that  country  without 
persistent  hostility  from  the  Waganda.  If  fortunate 
enough  to  force  our  way  through  Karagwe,  we  should 
have  to  reckon  with  the  Wanyankori,  who  number 
200,000  spears,  and  if  introduced  to  them  hy  fighting 
the  Karagwe  natives  the  outlook  would  be  dismal  in  the 
extreme.  As  for  going  through  any  country  west  of 
Karagw^  to  avoid  the  Waganda  that  would  be  impos- 
sible, except  at  a  cost  that  I  did  not  suppose  the  sub- 
scribers would  contemplate  paying. 

"  The  whole  question  resolves  itself  into  that  of  money. 
With  money  enough  every  route  is  possible ;  but  as 
I  understand  it,  you  propose  to  subscribe  a  moderate 
amount,  and  therefore  there  is  only  one  route  which 
is  safely  open  for  the  money,  and  that  is  the  Congo. 
This  river  has  the  disadvantao^e  of  not  having  enouijh 
transport  vessels  in  its  upper  portion.  I  would  propose 
then  to  supplement  the  Upper  Congo  flotilla  with 
fifteen  whale-boats,  which  will  take  an  Expedition  to 
within  200  miles,  at  least,  of  the  Albert  Nyauza.  A 
heavy  labour  will  be  carrying  the  whale-boats  from  the 
Lower  C^ongo  to  the  Upper,  but  we  can  easily  manage 
it  by  sending  agents  at  once  there  to  prepare  carriers. 
There  is  one  thing,  however,  that  must  be  done — which 
is  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  King  Leopold. 

"  But  it  may  be  we  arc  rather  premature  in  dis- 
cussing the  matter  at  all.  You  know  I  am  aware 
of  many  projects  mooted,  and  much  '  talk '  has  been 
expended  on  each  and  this  may  end  in  smoke — collect 
your  funds,  and  then  call  upon  me  if  you  want  me. 
If  you  do  not  require  me  after  this  exposition  of 
my  views,  let  Thomson  take  his  Expedition  througli 
the  Masai  Land,  and  put  me  down  for  £500  subscrip- 
tion for  it." 

As  the  middle  of  November  drew  near.  Sir  William 
Mackinnon  requested  me  to  write  him  a  letter  upon  the 

VOL.  I.  D 


34  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

subject  that  he  might  show  it  to  his  friends,  who  would 
soon  be  returning  to  town. 

A  few  days  after  the  despatch  of  the  letter,  I  sailed 
for  America,  and  on  arrival  at  New  York,  the  lecture 
"  Tour,"  as  it  is  called,  commenced.  But  on  the 
11  til  December,  the  fifteenth  day  after  arrival,  I  received 
the  followino- : — 

o 

"  London. 
"  Your  pLan  and  offer  accepted.     Authorities  approve.   Funds  provided. 
Business  urgent.     Come  promptly.     Eeply. 

"  MACKINNON." 

A  reply  was  sent  from  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont,  for 
thus  far  the  lecture  tour  had  reached,  as  follows  : — 

'  Just  received  Monday's  cablegram.  Many  thanks.  Everything  all 
right.  Will  sail  per  Eitkr  8  a.m.  Wednesday  morning.  If  good  weather 
and  barring  accidents  arrive  2"2nd  December,  Southampton.  It  is  only 
one  month's  delay  after  all.  Tell  the  authorities  to  i^rep  ire  Holmwood 
(Consul  General)  Zanzibar,  and  Seyyid  Barghash  (Prince  of  Zanzibar). 
Best  compliments  to  you. 

"  Stanley." 

My  agent  was  in  despair — the  audiences  were  so  kind 
— the  receptions  were  ovations,  l)ut  arguments  and 
entreaties  were  of  no  avail. 

I  arrived  in  England  the  day  preceding  Christmas, 
and  within  a  few  hours  Sir  William  Mackinnon  and 
myself  were  discussing  the  Expedition. 

Of  course,  and  without  the  least  shade  of  doubt,  I 
was  firmly  convinced  tliat  the  Congo  River  route  was 
infinitely  the  ])est  and  safest,  pi'ovidcd  that  T  should  get 
myflolilla  of  whale-boats,  and  the  .permission  of  King 
LeopoM  to  pass  llii-oiigli  his  territory  with  an  armed 
force.  I  knew  ;i  loiile  iVoni  the  East  Coast,  and  was 
C(|uaIIy  ac(|ii;iiiii('(l  with  lliat  fi'om  the  AVest  Coast. 
l''ioiii  the  furthest  point  icached  l)y  me  in  1870,  along 
the  East  (*()asl  id.id.  the  distance  was  but  100  miles 
to  Lake  Albert  linin  ^^■mlb;lya  Ivapids  the  distance 
was  322  geographical  imlcs  in  an  aii'  line  to  tlie  lake. 
Yet  to  tlie  best  of  my  juflgnient  th(^  Congo  route  was 
j)refcrable.  We  should  liaA'e  abundance  of  water — 
whicli  was  so  scanty  and  bad  along  (lie  Eastern  route; 
food  there  nnist  be  it  was  natui'al  to  expect  it  from  my 
knowledge  tliaL  unsuijjasscd  fertility  such  as  the    Upper 


I 


AN  EMIN  R'ELJEF  FUND   BAISED.  35 

Congo  regions  possesses  would  have  been  long  ago 
discovered  by  the  aborigines,  whereas  we  knew  from 
Thomson,  Fischer,  and  Ilannington's  experiences  that 
food  and  water  was  scanty  in  Masai  Land  ;  then  again, 
that  wholesale  desertion  so  frequent  on  the  East  Coast 
would  ])e  avoided  on  the  West  Coast. 

Yet  notwithstanding  they  admitted  that  I  might  be 
right,  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  that  it  would 
be  best  to  adopt  the  Eastern  route. 

"  Very  good,  it  is  perfectly  immaterial  to  me.  Let  lis  decide  on  the  East 
Coast  route,  via,  Msalala,  Karajiwe,  Ankori,  and  Unyoro.  If  jon  hear  of 
some  hard-fighting,  I  look  to  you  that  you  will  defend  the  absent.  If  I 
could  drop  this  ammunition  iu  Emin's  camj)  from  a  balloon  I  certainly 
would  do  so,  and  avoid  coming  in  contact  with  those  warlike  natives,  but 
it  is  decided  that  the  means  of  defence  must  be  put  into  Emin's  hands, 
and  you  have  entrusted  me  with  the  escort  of  it.     So  be  it." 

A  Relief  Fund  was  raised,  the  subscriptions  to  which 
were  as  follows  : —  ^ 

Sir  William  Mackinnon,  Bart.       .      .  2,000 

Peter  Mackinnon,  Esq 1,000 

John  Mackinnon,  Esq.      •  .      ...      .  300 

Baroness  Burdett-Coutts   ....  100 

W.  Burdett-Coutts,  Escj 400 

James  S.  Jameson,  Esq 1,000 

Countess  de  Noailles 1,000 

Peter  Denny,  Esq. ,  of  Dumbarton  .  1,000 
Henry  Johnson  Younger,  Esq.,  of  the 

Scottish  Geographical  Society  .  .  500 
Alexander    L.    Bruce,    Esq.,    of    the 

Scottish  Geographical  Society   .      .  500 

Messrs.  Gray,  Dawes  &  Co.,  of  London  1,000 

Duncan  Mac  Neil,  Esq 700 

James  F.  Hutton,  Esq.,  of  Manchester  250 

Sir  Thos.  Fowell  Buxton    .      .      .      .  250 

James  Hall,  Esq.,  of  Argyleshire  .      .  250 

N.  McMichael,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow  .      .  250 

Royal  Geographical  Society,  London  .  1,000 

Egyptian  Government       ....  10,000 

£21,500* 
*  See  Appendix  for  full  statement  of  Keceipts  and  Expenditure. 


36 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


In  order  to  increase  the  funds  and  create  a  provision 
against  contingencies,  I  volunteered  to  write  letters 
from  Africa,  which  the  Committee  might  disposi^,  of  to 
the  press  as  they  saw  fit,  and  accept  whatever  moneys 
that  might  receive  as  my  contribution  to  it. 

The  estimate  of  time  required  to  reach  Emin  Pasha, 
after  a  careful  calculation,  was  formed  on  the  basis  that 
whereas  I  travelled  in  1874-5  a  distance  of  720  miles 
in  103  days,  therefore  : — 

1st  route. — By  Masai  Lau'l,  march  to  Wadelai  and  return  to  coast 
14  months.     Keserve  for  delays  4  mouths  =  18  months. 

2nd  route. — By  Msahila,  Karagwe,  Ankori,  and  Usongora  to  Lake 
Albert.  Land  march  to  and  return  16  mouths,  delays 
4  months  =  20  months. 

3rd  route. —  Via  Congo. 

Zanzibar  to  Congo        .         .     1  mth.  =    1st  Apnl,  1887 
Overland  route  to  Stanley  Pool  1      „     -    1st  May     „ 


By  steam  up  the  Congo         .      It^  „ 

-  15th  June    „ 

Halt 

.  25th    „       „ 

Yambuya  to  Albert  Nyanza.     3  mths 

=  2-)th  Sept.,  1887 

Halt 

.     9th  Jan.,  1888 

Albert  Nyanza  to  Zanzibar,)   <, 
land  march                           j          " 

=    8th  Sept.    „ 

Delays         .         .         .         .     3V    „ 

=  18  months. 

The  actual  time,  however,  occupied  by  the  Expedition 
is  as  follows  : — - 


Arrive  at  Congo     .... 

„        „  Stanley  Pool    . 

,,        ,,  Yambuya 
Halt  at  Yamliuya   .... 
Albert  Nyanza        .... 
|{cturn  to  Fort  Bodo 
Halt  Avhile  collecting  coiiviilcscents 
Tlie  All)crt  Nvauza,  2iid  time 
Halt  until      .'.... 
Fort  Bodo  again     .... 
Banalya  'JO  miles  from  "^'nnibnya 
Fort  Bodo  again     .... 
Allicrt  Nyanza,  3rd  time 
Halt  near  Allicrt  Nyanza  until 
March  to  Zanzibar,  1 100  miles,  0  months 

So  that  we  actually  ()C('nj)icd  a  litth^  over 
Zanzibar   to   the  Albert  Nyanza,  an 
from  the  Nvaiiza  to  the  Lidian  Ocean 

Halt  at  the  Albert 


1888 


18th  Mar,  1887 

21st  Apr.  „ 

L5th  Juno  „ 
28th     „ 
13th  Dec. 

8th  Jan., 

2nd  Apr.  „ 
18th     „ 

25th  May  „ 

8th  June  „ 

17th  Am;.  „ 

20ih  Dec.  „ 

2(;Mi  Jan.,  1889 

Hth  May  ,. 

Gth  Dec.  „ 

10  v  months  from 


18 


PUBCHASING    GOOD.^  FOR    TJJE  FXPETHTJON. 


37 


I  was  formally  informed  by  letter  on  the  3Lst  of 
December,  1886,  that  I  might  commence  my  preparations. 

The  first  order  I  gave  in  connection  with  the  Expedi- 
tion for  the  relief  of  Emin  Bey  was  by  cal)le  to  Zanzibar 
to  my  agent,  Mr,  Edmund  Mackenzie,  of  Messrs.  Smith, 
Mackenzie  &  Co.,  to  engage  200  Wanyamwezi  porters 
at  Bagamoyo  to  convey  as  many  loads  of  rice  ( =  G  tons) 
to  the  missionary  station  at  Mpwapwa,  which  was  about 
200  miles  east  of  Zanzil)ar,  the  cost  of  which  was 
2,700  rupees. 

The  second  order,  after  receiving  the  consent  of  His 
Highness  the  Seyyid  of  Zanzi]:)ar,  was  to  enlist  GOO 
Zanzibari  porters,  and  also  the  purchase  of  the  following- 
goods,  to  be  used  for  barter  for  native  provisions,  such  as 


gram,  potatoes,  rice.  In 

clian  corn,  ba 

nanas,  plantanis 

Yards. 

4fl0  pieces  (30  yards  each)  of  brown  sheeting         .     l-i,()(iO 

865      „      (8       „ 

,    )  of  kaniki 

.       G,920 

99      „      (8 

.    )  handkerchie 

fs       .         .           71)2 

80      „      (8 

)  taujiri 

(540 

214      „      (8 

„    )  dabwani 

.       1,712 

107      „     (8 

„    )  sohari 

...          856 

27      „     (8 

,    ) subaya 

216 

121      „     (8 

,    )  Barsati 

968 

58      „      (24 

,    )  kiinguru 

.       1,892 

48      „      (8 

„    )  ismaili 

384 

119      „      (8 

,    )  kikoi  . 

952 

14      „      (4 

,    )  daole  . 

56 

27      „      (4 

,    )  jawah . 

108 

4      „      (•J4 

> 

,    )  kanga. 

96 

•1      „     (24 

,    )  bindera 

96 

68      „      (8 

,    ) rehani 

464 

6      „     (30 

,    ) joho    . 

180 

24      „     (4 

,    )  silk  kikoi 

96 

24      „     (4 

„    )  silk  daole 

96 

24      „     (4 

,    )  fine  dabwan 

i        .         .            96 

13      „     (4 

,    )  sohari . 

52 

3      „     (30 

, 

,    )  tine  slieetinj 

;        .         .            90 

24  long  shirts,  white 

24                                             Kvrv,,,,, 

**    »        »       * 

Ji.\J^  XX 

Total 

yards         .     27,262 

Also  3,600  lbs.  of  beads  and  1  ton  of  wire,  brass,  copper, 
iron. 

The  third  order  was  for  the  purchase  of  forty  pack 
donkeys  and  ten  riding  asses,  which  necessitated  an 
order  for  saddles  to  match,  at  an  expense  of  .£400. 

Messrs.   Forrest  &   Son   received  a  design  and  order 


38  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

for  the  construction  of  a  steel  l)oat  28  ft.  long,  6  ft. 
beam,  and  2  ft.  6  in.  deep.  It  was  to  be  built  of 
Siemens  steel  galvanized,  and  divided  into  twelve 
sections,  each  weighing  about  75  lbs.  The  fore  and 
aft  sections  were  to  be  decked  and  watertight,  to  give 
buoyancy  in  case  of  accident. 

From  Egypt  were  despatched  to  Zanzibar  510 
Eemington  riHes,  2  tons  of  gunpowder,  350,000  per- 
cussion caps,  and  100,000  rounds  Remington  ammuni- 
tion. In  England  the  War  Office  furnished  me  with 
30,000  Gatling  cartridges,  and  from  Messrs.  Kynoch  & 
Co.,  Birmingham,  I  received  35,000  special  Remington 
cartridges.  Messrs.  Watson  &  Co.,  of  4,  Pall  Mall, 
packed  up  50  Winchester  repeaters  and  50,000  Win- 
chester cartridges.  Hiram  Maxim,  the  inventor  of  the 
Maxim  Automatic  Gun,  donated  as  a  gift  one  of  his 
wonderful  weapons,  wdth  shield  attached  mounted  on 
a  light  but  effective  stand. 

We  despatched  to  Zanzibar  100  shovels,  100  hoes, 
for  forming  breastworks,  100  axes  for  palisading  the 
camp,  100  bill-hooks  for  building  zeribas. 

Messrs.  Burroughs  &  Welcome,  of  Snowhill  Buildings, 
London,  the  well-known  chemists,  furnished  gratis  nine 
l)eautiful  chests  replete  with  every  medicament  neces- 
sary to  combat  the  endemic  diseases  peculiar  to  Africa. 
Every  drug  was  in  tablets  mixed  with  quick  solvents, 
every  compartment  was  well  stocked  with  essentials  for 
the  doctor  and  surgeon.  Nothing  was  omitted,  and  we 
all  owe  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  these  gentlemen,  not 
only  for  the  intrinsic,  value  of  these  chests  and  excellent 
medicines,  but  alscj  for  the  personal  selection  of  the  best 
that  London  could  furnish,  and  the  supervision  of  the 
packing,  by  wliicli  means  we  were  enabled  to  transport 
them  to  Yani])uya  without  damage. 

Messrs.  John  Ldgington  &  Co.,  of  Duke  Street, 
London,  took  chai-ge  of  our  tents,  and  made  them  out 
of  canvas  dipfx-cl  in  ;i  jti-csci'vative  of  sul|)]iate  of  copper, 
wliicli  |)rcs(;rvc(|  tlinii  for  I  liree  years.  Notwithstanding 
their  exposure  to  tliicc  h  inn  bed  d.-iys  of  rain,  for  the 
first  time  in  my  c,\|)cri(  ikc   in    AfVica  I  possessed  a  tent 


PURCHASES   FOR    USE   OF   THE  RELIEF  EXPEDITION.     39 

which,  after  arrival  iii  Zanziiiar  in    1889,  was  well  able 
to  endure  two  hundred  days  more  of  rain. 

Messrs.  Fortnum  &  Mason,  of  Piccadilly,  packed  up 
forty  carrier  loads  of  choicest  provisions.  Every  article 
was  superb,  the  tea  retained  its  flavour  to  the  last,  the 
coffee  was  of  the  purest  Mocha,  the  Liebig  Company's 


CAPTAIN   NELSON 


Extract  was  of  the  choicest,  and  the  packing  of  all  was 
excellent. 

I  need  not  enumerate  what  else  was  purchased.  Four 
expeditions  into  Africa,  with  my  old  lists  of  miscellanea 
before  me,  enabled  me  to  choose  the  various  articles, 
and  in  Sir  Francis  de  Winton  and  Captain  Grant  Elliott 
I     had    valuable    assistants    who    would    know    what 


40 


IN  DAltKEST  AFRICA. 


magazines    to    patronize,    and    who    could    clieck     tlie 
deliveries. 

Colonel  Sir  Francis  de  Winton  was  my  successor  on 
the  Congo,  and  he  gave  me  gratuitously  and  out  of 
pure  friendship  the  benefit  of  his  great  experience,  and 
his  masterly  knowledge  of  business  to  assist  me  in  the 


LIliUTKNANT   STAI118. 


despatch  of  llic  viuious  Imsinesses  connected  with  the 
('X[)cditi()ii,  csjx'ciallv  in  aiiswci-iiiL!,"  Ictlci's.  and  selecting 
out  of  tlie  huinlicds  of  eager  applicants  for  membership 
a  few  officers  to  loiiii  a  staff. 

Tlic  first  seh'clcd  w;is  Licntcnaiit  W.  (h-ant  Stairs,  of 
till!  Royal  Engineers,  wlio  li;id  ;i|)|)li(^d  by  lettei-.  Tlie 
concise  style  and  <b reel  ness  oi"  the  appUcation  appealed 


SELECTION   OF  MY   OFFICERS. 


41 


strongly  in  liis  favour.  We  sent  for  him,  and  after  a 
short  interview  enlisted  him  on  condition  that  he  could 
obtain  leave  of  absence.  Lord  Wolseley  kindly  granted 
leave. 

The  next  was  Mr.  William  Bonny,  who,  having  failed 
in  his  epistolary  ventures  on  former  expeditions,  thought 


MB.    WILLIAM    BONNY. 


the  best  way  was  to  present  himself  in  person  for 
service  in  any  capacity.  The  gentleman  would  not 
take  a  mild  negative.  His  breast  was  covered  with 
medals.  They  spoke  eloquently,  though  dumb,  for  his 
merits.  The  end  of  it  was  Mr,  Bonny  was  engaged  as 
medical  assistant,  he  having  just  left  service  in  a 
hospital  of  the  A.M.D. 


42 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


The  third  was  Mr.  John  Rose  Troup,  who  had  per- 
formed good  service  on  the  Congo.  He  was  intimate 
with  Swahih,  the  vernacular  of  Zanzibar.  He  was  not 
dainty  at  work,  was  exact  and  methodical  in  preserving 
accounts.     Mr.  Troup  was  engaged. 

The   fourth    volunteer   who   presented    himself    was 


MR.    A.    J.    MOrNTENEY  JEPHSON. 


Major  Ediiiuiid  Musgravc  liarl  tclol,  of  the  7tli  Fusileers. 
He  was  acc<)m[)anied  by  an  a((|uaintance  of  mine  who 
spoke  hi;i;hl\'  ofliim.  Wliat  |)ass('(l  at  ilic  interview  will 
be  heard  laicr  on.  After  a  Jew  jcniarks  he  was  also 
engaged. 

The   fifth    was    ('a|ilalii    W.    1 1.    Nelson,   of   Methuen's 
Horse,   fairly  distiiiguislied   in  Zulu  campaigns.      There 


A   liOYAL   LETTER.  43 

was  merit  in  his  very  face.     Captain  Nelson  agreed  to 
sign  the  articles  of  enlistment. 

Our  next  volunteer  was  Mr.  A.  J.  Mounteney  Jephson, 
inexperienced  as  yet  in  foreign  travel,  and  quite  un- 
accustomed to  "  roughing"  in  wilds.  On  some  members 
of  the  Committee  Mr.  Jephson  made  the  impression 
that  he  was  unfitted  for  an  expedition  of  this  kind, 
})eing  in  their  opinion  of  too  "high  class."  But  the 
Countess  de  Noailles  made  a  suljscription  in  his  favour 
to  the  Belief  Fund  of  £1,000,  an  argument  that  the 
Committee  could  not  resist,  and  Mr.  Jephson  signed  the 
articles  of  agreement  with  unshaken  nerves.  Poor 
young  Jephson  !  he  emerged  out  of  Africa  after  various 
severe  trials  which  are  herein  related. 

One  of  the  latest  to  apply,  and  when  the  list  was 
about  to  be  closed,  was  Mr.  James  S.  Jameson.  He 
had  travelled  in  Mashona  and  Matabele  lands  in  South 
Africa  to  collect  trophies  of  the  wild  chase,  to  study 
birds,  and  to  make  sketches.  He  did  not  appear  re- 
markably strong.  We  urged  that,  but  he  as  quickly 
defended  his  slight  appearance,  and  argued  that  as  he 
had  already  spent  a  long  time  in  Africa  his  experience 
disproved  our  fears.  Besides,  he  was  willing  to  sub- 
scribe £1,000  for  the  privilege  of  membership,  and  do 
ftiithful  and  loyal  service,  as  though  it  was  indispensable 
for  the  Expedition  to  employ  him.  Mr.  Jameson  was 
firm,  and  subscribed  to  the  articles. 

We  were  in  the  full  swing  of  preparations  to  meet 
the  necessities  of  the  overland  march  from  Zanzibar, 
east  to  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  when,  as  will  be  shown  by 
the  tenor  of  the  following  letter,  it  became  necessary 
to  reconsider  our  route. 

"  Palais  de  Bruxelles, 
"Deab  Mr.  Stanley,  "  7th  January,  1887. 

"  The  Congo  State  has  nothing  to  gain  by  the  Expedition  for  the 
relief  of  Emin  Pasha  passing  through  its  territory.  The  King  has 
suggested  this  road  merely  so  as  to  lend  your  services  to  the  Expedition, 
which  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  do  were  the  Expedition  to 
proceed  by  the  Eastern  coast.  According  to  your  own  estimate,  the 
Expedition  proceeding  by  the  Eastern  coast  would  occupy  about  eighteen 
months.  His  Majesty  considers  that  he  would  be  failing  in  his  duty 
towards  the  State  were  he  to  deprive  it  of  your  services,  especially  as  the 
latter  will  be  certainly  needed  before  the  expiration  of  this  lapse  of  time. 


44  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

"  If  tlie  Expedition  proceeds  by  the  Congo  the  State  will  promise  to 
show  it  all  good  will.  The  State  likewise  gratuitously  places  at  tlie 
disposal  of  the  Expedition  the  whole  of  its  naval  stock,  inasmuch  as  will 
allow  the  working  arrangements  of  its  own  administration,  which  it  is, 
above  all,  desirous  of  ensuring,  as  you  know.  The  Stanley  is  the  largest 
steamer  on  the  Upper  Congo.  We  are  forwarding  a  second  one  by  the 
mail  of  the  15th  inst ,  and  we  will  hasten  as  much  as  possible  the 
launching  of  this  steamer  at  Stanley  Pool ;  she  will  be  a  valuable  and 
much- needed  adjunct  to  our  flotilla.  In  the  meanwhile  tlie  mission 
steamer  Peace  would  no  doubt  gratuitously  effect  certain  transports. 

"  ^hould  the  Expedition  desire  it,  we  would  facilitate  the  recruiting  of 
Bangala;  we  are  very  pleased  with  the  latter,  as  they  are  excellent 
soldiers,  and  do  not  fear  the  Arabs  like  the  Zanzibaris. 

"  You  will  have  remarked  that  the  official  documents,  published  this 
week  in  Berlin,  limit  the  territory  of  Zanzibar  to  a  narrow  strip  of  land 
along  the  seashore.  Beyond  this  strip  the  entire  territory  is  German. 
If  the  Germans  allow  the  Expedition  to  cross  their  territory,  the  Zanzi- 
baris would  be  precisely  as  on  the  Congo,  on  foreign  soil. 
"  With  kind  regards,  I  am,  dear  Mr.  Stanley, 

"  Yours  very  truly, 

"  COMTE   DE   BORCHGRAVE." 

That  this  was  not  a  light  matter  to  be  hastily  decided 
will  be  evident  by  the  following  note  which  was  sent  me 
by  Sir  William  Mackinnon  : — 

"  Western  Club,  Glasgow, 
"  My  dear  Stanley,  "  '^««««'-2/  4.fJi,  1887. 

"  I  had  a  pleasant  short  letter  from  the  King  showing  how  anxious 
he  is  the  Congo  route  should  be  taken,  and  how  unwilling  to  allow  a 
break  in  the  continuity  of  your  connection  with  the  Congo  State,  as  he 
considers  you  a  ])illar  of  the  State.  He  asks  me  to  banish  (?)  any  diver- 
pent  sentiments,  and  get  all  parties  to  agree  to  the  Congo  route.  I  have 
exi)]ained  fully  all  that  has  been  done  and  is  doing,  and  the  difficulties 
in  1  he  way  of  cancelling  existing  engagement's,  and  get  the  authorities, 
home  and  Egyptian  and  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar,  to  acquiesce  in  making 
such  a  change.  I  also  mentioned  the  great  additional  charge  involved 
by  sending  000  men,  even  if  the  Sultan  should  consent  to  their  going 
from  Zanzibar  to  the  Congo  and  bringing  them  back. 

"  I  promised,  however,  to  ascertain  whether  all  interested  in  the  present 
arrangements  would  agree  in  taking  the  Congo  route. 


In  my  diary  of  Jamiaiy  5111  I  find  written  briefly 
the  heads  of  l)usinesses  despatched  this  da}'. 

As  suggested  by  Mackinnon,  who  has  been  written 
to  l)y  King  Leopold  uj)on  tlic  sid)je<'t  of  tlie  Congo 
route,  1  saw  Sir  Percy  Anderson,  and  levealed  the 
King's  d(!sir(;  tliat  the  ExpcMlition  should  pro(;eed  via 
('ongo.  I  was  i-('(|U('st('d  to  stale  wliut  advantages  the 
Congo  route  gave,  and  j( 'plied  ;  — 


THE  KINO  OF  THE  BELGIANS  AND  THE  CONGO  ROUTE.  45 

Ist.  Certainty  of  reaching  Emin. 

2nd.  Transport  up  the  Congo  River  by  state  steamers 
to  a  point  320  geographical  miles  from  Lake  Albert. 

Srd.  Allaying  suspicion  of  Germans  that  underlying 
our  acts  were  political  motives. 

4th.  Allaying  alleged  fears  of  French  Government 
that  our  Expedition  would  endanger  the  lives  of  French 
Missionaries. 

5th.  If  French  Missionaries  were  endangered,  then 
English  Missionaries  would  certainly  share  their  fate. 

6th.  Greater  immunity  from  the  desertion  of  the 
Zanzibaris  who  were  fickle  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Arab  settlements. 

Lord  Iddesleigh  writes  me  that  the  French  ambassador 
has  been  instructed  to  inform  him  that  if  the  Emin 
Pasha  Relief  Expedition  proceeds  by  a  route  east  of  the 
Victoria  Nyanza  it  will  certainly  endanger  the  lives  of 
their  Missionaries  in  Uganda.  He  suggests  that  I 
consider  this  question. 

Visited  Admiralty,  inquired  of  Admiral  Sullivan 
respecting  the  possibility  of  Admiralty  supph'ing 
vessel  to  carry  Expedition  to  Congo.  He  said  if 
Government  ordered  it  would  be  easy,  if  not,  im- 
possible. 

Wrote  to  the  King  urging  him  to  acquaint  me  how 
far  his  assistance  would  extend  in  transport  on  the 
Upper  C/ongo. 

Januarij  Sth. — Received  letters  from  the  King.  He 
lays  claim  to  my  services.  Offers  to  lend  whole  of  his 
naval  stock  for  transport  except  such  as  may  be  necessary 
for  uses  of  administration.  Wired  to  Mackinnon  that 
I  felt  uneasy  at  the  clause  ;  that  it  was  scarcely 
compatible  with  the  urgency  required.  Colonel  de 
Winton  wrote  to  the  same  eftect. 

Effects  of  Expedition  are  arriving  by  many  cwts, 

De  Winton  worked  with  me  until  late  in  the 
night. 

January  9th,  1887. — Colonel  J.  A.  Grant,  Colonel  Sir 
F.   de  Winton,   and  myself  sat  down  to   consider  His 


46  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

Majesty's  letter,  and  finally  wrote  a  reply  requesting  he 
would  graciously  respond  with  greater  definiteness 
respecting  quantity  of  transport  and  time  for  which 
transport  vessels  will  be  granted  as  so  many  matters 
depend  upon  quick  reply,  such  as  hire  of  Soudanese, 
detention  of  mail  steamer  for  shipment  of  ammunition, 
etc.     We  therefore  send  special  messenger 

January  lOtli,  1887 — De  Winton  visited  Foreign 
Office  and  was  promised  as  soon  as  possible  to  attend  to 
the  detention  of  mail  steamer  and  Government  transport 
round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Messrs.  Gray,  Dawes  &  Co  write  Postmaster-General 
willing  to  detain  Zanzibar  mail  steamer  at  Aden  to 
wait  Navarino,  which  sails  from  London  on  the 
20th  with  the  ammunition  and  officers.  I  overtake 
Navarino  at  Suez  after  settling  matters  of  Expedition 
in  Egypt. 

January  I2th. — Answer  arrived  last  night.  Meeting 
was  called  by  Honourable  Guy  Dawnay,  Colonel  Sir 
Lewis  Pelly,  Colonel  Sir  F.  de  Winton  and  self  The 
answer  as  regards  Congo  route  being  satisfactory  was 
decided  upon,  and  this  has  now  been  adopted  unani- 
mously. 

Was  notified  at  2  p.m  by  the  Earl  of  Iddesleigh  that 
he  would  see  me  at  6  p.m.  But  at  3.13  p.m.  the  Earl 
died  suddenly  from  disease  of  the  heart. 

January  l^f/i. — Foreign  office  note  received  from  Sir 
J.  Pauncefote  transmitting  telegram  from  Sir  E.  Baring, 
also  letters  concerning  Admiralty  ti'ansport.  No  help 
from  Admiialty. 

(Joods  arriving  fast.      Will  pioscntly  fill  my  house. 

Went  down  with  Baroness  i^urdett-Coutts  to  Guildhall, 
arriving  tliciv  1 2.4.")  ]).in.  1  received  Freedom  of  City 
of  London,  and  am  callcil  youngest  citizen.  Afterwards 
lunchctl  at  Mansion  House,  a  distinguished  party 
present,  and  allair  most  satisfactory. 

'^I'elegraplicd  to  linissels  to  know  if  I^'i'iday  convenient 
to  King,      -l^^i'l}',  "  Vcs  at  9.30  a.m." 

.laiinary  14th. — ('rosscd  over  ('liaiincl  last  night 
towards  Brussels  via  Ustcntl  to  see  King  Jicopold.      Saw 


PREPARATORY  DETAILS  OF  THE  RELIEF  EXPEDITION.    47 

King  and  gave  my  faicvvell.  He  was  very  kind.  Left 
for  London  in  evening  at  8  p.m. 

Telegram  arrived  from  Sandringham  requesting 
visit. 

January  15th. — Sir  Percy  Anderson  requested  inter- 
view. 

Mr.  Joseph  Thomson  at  this  late  hour  has  been 
writing  to  Geographical  Society  wanting  to  go  with 
Expedition. 

Arranged  with  Ligham  to  collect  Congo  carriers.  He 
goes  out  shortly. 

Telegraphed  Zanzibar  to  recall  rice  carriers  from 
Mpwapwa.     This  will  cost  2,500  rupees  more. 

Wrote  some  days  ago  to  the  donor  of  the  Peace 
Mission  Steamer  on  the  Congo  requesting  loan  of  her 
for  the  relief  of  Emin  Pnsha.  Received  the  following 
quaint  reply : — 

"Dear  Mr.  Stanley,  " Leeds,  Janwary  15<A,  1887. 

"  I  liave  much  regard  for  yon  persdnally,  although  I  cannot,  dare  not, 
sanction  all  your  acts. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  if  I  cannot  give  assent  to  yom*  request ;  but  I  fully 
believe  you  will  be  no  sufferer  by  llie  circiimstance  of  not  having  the 
s.s.  Peace.     Yesterday  I  was  able  to  come  to  a  decision. 

"  Mr.  Baynes,  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  Holborn,  will,  he 
hopes,  make  to  you  any  communication  he  judges  proper.  If  you  have 
any  reverential  regard  for  'the  Man  of  Sorrows,'  the  'King  of  Peace' 
may  He  mercifully  preserve  and  save  your  party. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  safety  of  Emin — till  his  work  is  done.  I 
believe  he  will  be  brought  through  this  tiial  in  perfect  safety.  God 
Fccms  to  have  given  you  a  noble  soul  (covers  for  the  moment,  if  on  jour 
sad  sin  and  mist.ikes),  and  I  should  like  you  should  '  repent  and  believe 
the  Gospel ' — with  real  sense,  and  live  hereafter  in  happiness,  light,  and 
joy— for  ever.  Here  delay  in  you  is  more  dangerous  than  delay  for  Emin. 
"  Your  faithful  friend, 

"  (Signed)     Robert  Arthington." 

January  16th. — Colonel  J.  A.  Grant  offered  to  arrange 
with  Mr.  J.  S.  Keltic,  Editor  of  Nature,  to  discuss  Mr. 
Thomson's  off"er. 

Letters  accumulate  by  scores.  All  hands  employed 
answering. 

January  17th. — Wrote  Sir  Percy  Anderson  would  call 
Wednesday  2  p.m.     Correspondence  increases. 

Mr.   Joseph   Thomson's   offer   discussed.      Mr.    J,    S. 


48  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

Keltie  is  to  write  to  him  privately — decision  of"  com- 
mittee. 

Arranged  with  G.  S.  Mackenzie  about  Zanzibar 
matters.  He  despatched  two  telegrams.  General 
Brackenbury  wrote  al)out  coal  being  furnished  re- 
quiring Treasury  sanction. 

Januan/  ISfh. — Worked  off  morning's  business. 

Travelled  to  Sandringham  with  Colonel  de  Winton  to 
see  His  Koyal  Highness.  With  African  map  before  us 
gave  short  lecture  to  their  Eoyal  Highnesses  respecting 
route  proposed  to  reach  Emin  Pasha.  Had  a  very 
attentive  audience. 

Janaari/  19th. — Sir  William  Mackinnon  mustered  his 
friends  at  the  Burlington  Hotel  at  a  farewell  banquet  to 
me. 

Have  said  *'  good-bye  "  to  a  host  of  friends  to-day. 

January  20t/>. — The  s.s.  Navarino  sailed  this  afternoon 
carrying  goods  of  Expedition  and  officers.  Lieutenant 
Stairs,  Captain  Nelson,  and  j\Ir.  Mounteney  Jephson. 
Mr.  William  Bonny  started  from  vay  rooms  with  black 
boy  Baruti  to  Fenchurch  Station  at  8  a.m.  Arriving 
there  he  leaves  Baruti  after  a  while  and  proceeds  to 
Tower  of  London  !  He  says  that  returning  to  station 
at  2  p.m.  he  found  l)oat  had  gone.  He  then  went  to 
Gray,  Dawes  &  Co.,  shipping  agents,  and  is  discouraged 
to  find  that  the  matter  cannot  be  mended.  Baruti 
found  deserted  in  Fenchurch  Station,  very  hungry  and 
cold.  Colonel  J.  A.  (Jraiit  finds  him  and  brings  him 
to  me. 

Januari/  21^/. — Despatch  Mr.  lioiiuy  bv  rail  to  Ply- 
mouth to  overtake  a  steamer  liound  for  India  and 
instruct  him  to  del)ark  at  Suez  with  l»oy  and  await  me. 

Ijcft  London  at  .S.f)  p.m.  lor  l^^gyi)t.  Quite  a  crowd 
collcctcid  to  take  a  (inn I  shake  of  the  hands  and  to  bid 
me  a  kindly  "(iod  speed." 


CHAPTER  11. 


EGYPT   AND    ZANZIBAR. 

Surgeon  T.  H.  Paikc — Views  of  Sir  Erelyn  Baring,  Nubar  Pasha,  Pro- 
fessor Schweinfurth  and  Dr.  Junker  on  the  Emin  Eelief  Expedition 
— Details  relating  to  Emin  Pasha  and  his  Province — General  Grenfell 
and  the  ammnnition— Breakfast  -svith  Khedive  Tewfik:  message  to 
Emin  Pasha  —  Deitartnre  for  Zanzibar  —  Description  of  Mombasa 
town — Visit  to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar — Letter  to  Emin  Pasha  sent 
by  messenger  through  Uganda — Arrangements  with  TipjDOo  Tib — 
Emin  Pasha's  Ivory — Mr.  Mackenzie,  Sir  John  Pender  and  Sir  James 
Anderson's  assistance  to  the  Relief  Expedition. 

January  27tli,  1887. — Arrived  at  Alexandria  6  a.m.      1887. 
Surgeon  t.  H.   Parke  of  tlie  A.M.D.   came  to  my  hotel    J^°-  "'^■ 
and  applied  for  the  position    of  surgeon  to  the  Expe-      j^.-^"" 
dition.      It  was  the  one  vacancy  not  yet  filled  to  my 
satisfaction.      I    considered   it    a    Godsend,    though    I 
appeared   distant,  as    I    had  had  two  most  unpleasant 
experiences   wdth   medical    men,    both    of  whom   were 
crotchetty,  and  inconsistent  in  England.     An  extremely 
handsome  young  gentleman — diffident   somewhat — but 
very  prepossessing.     To  try  if  he  were  in  earnest  I  said, 
"  If  you  care  to  follow  me  to  Cairo,  I  will   talk  further 
with  you.     I  have  not  the  time  to  argue  with  you  here." 

Left  Alexandria  at  10  a.m.  for  Cairo.  At  the  station 
I  met  Sir  Evelyn  Baring,  whom  I  had  read  of  in  Gordon's 
journals.  We  drove  to  Sir  Evelyn's  house  and  was 
told  in  his  straightforward  and  clearest  manner  that 
there  was  a  hitch  somewhere.  The  Khedive  and  Nul:)ar 
Pasha,  the  Prime  Minister,  were  doubtful  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  Congo  route.  Professor  Schweinfurth 
and  Dr.  Junker  had  both  been  struck  with  consternation, 
and  by  their  manner  had  expressed  that  the  idea  was 
absurd. 

VOL.   L  |1 


50 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887 
Jan.  27 

Cairo- 


"  Well,  Sir  Evelyn,"  I  said,  "  do  you  not  think  that 
there  are  as  clever  men  in  England  as  Messrs.  Schwein- 
furth  and  Junker  ?  On  the  Relief  Committee  we  have 
Colonel  James  Augustus  Grant — companion  of  Speke. 
Colonel  Sir  Francis  de  Winton,  late  Administrator 
General  of  the    Congo,   Colonel  Sir  Lewis  Pelly — late 


SUKUliON    I'AKKE,   AMD. 


I'()li(ic;il  AliciiI  ;iI  Z;i  ii/.jIkii',  the  Honourahlc  Guy 
Ihiwnay  oI'iIh-  W.u'  ( )|]i<c.  Sii-  Jolin  l\irk — late  Consul- 
(Jciieral  .it  /;iii/.il.;ir.  the  ||c\  Horace  Waller  and 
several  oilier  di.sl  iii<_!uislic(|  .iikI  level-headed  men. 
Nothing  has  hcen  setth'd  williont  (ho  (umcurrence  and 
HSHcnt    (if   the    l''onM<_qi    Oilier.      Wc     jiavc    considered 


SIR  EVELYN  BARING  S  VIEWS  ON  THE  EXPEDITION,      51 


everything,  and  I  have  come  thus  far  resolved  to  carry 
the  project  out  as  the  committee  and  myself  have  agreed." 
And  then  I  gave  Sir  Evelyn  the  pros  and  ccnis  of  the 
routes,  which  satisfied  him.  We  then  drove  to  the 
Prime  Minister,  Nubar  Pasha,  and  tlie  same  explanations 
had  to  ])e  entered  into  with  him.     Nubar,  with  a  kindly 


NUBAU    I'ASIIA. 


benevolent  smile,  deferred  to  Sir  Evelyn's  superior 
judgment.  Nubar  assented  to  the  wisdom  and  discretion 
of  the  chanore,  and  as  a  reward  I  was  invited  to  break- 
fast  for  the  morrow. 

January    '2'^th,    Cairo. — I    breakfasted    with    Nubar 
Pasha.     He  introduced  me  to  Mason  Bey — the  circum- 


1887. 
Jan.  27. 

Cairo. 


Cairo. 


52  IN  DABKE8T  AFRICA. 

1887.  navigator  of  Lake  Albert  in  1877,  Madame  Nubar 
Jan.  28.  ^^{^  tlirec  daughters,  Tigrane  Pasha,  his  son-in-law, 
Mr,  Fane,  formerly  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Brussels. 
During  breakfast  Nubar  Pasha  conversed  upon  many 
things,  principally  Egypt,  Soudan,  Africa  and  Gordon. 
Of  Gordon  he  is  clearly  no  admirer.  He  accredits  the 
loss  of  the  Soudan  to  him.  His  views  of  Baker  were  that 
he  was  a  fighter — an  eager  pioneer — a  man  of  great 
power. 

Showed  map  to  Nuljar  after  breakfast.  He  examined 
the  various  routes  carefully,  and  was  convinced  the 
Congo  route  was  the  best.  He  proposes  to  write 
instructions  to  Emin  to  return  to  Egypt  on  the  ground 
that  Egypt  cannot  aiford  to  retain  the  Soudan  under 
present  circumstances.  He  permits  us  the  use  of  the 
Egyptian  Flag  as  the  banner  of  the  Expedition.  He 
says  he  would  like  to  see  Emin  return  with  as  much 
ivory  as  possible  and  bringing  his  Makrakas  with  him. 
Should  any  ivory  be  brought  out  he  will  lay  claim  to 
some  of  the  money  on  behalf  of  the  Egyptian  Govern- 
ment— -because  of  the  £  10,000  furnished  by  it.  Uniforms 
are  being  ordered  for  Emin  Pasha  and  principal  officers, 
for  which  the  Relief  Fund  will  have  to  pay.  Rank  and 
pay  due  to  each  officer  assured. 

I  saw  Schweinfurth  and  Junker,  who  have  l)ccn  con- 
sidered experts  here,  and  I  have  had  a  long  and 
interesting  conversation,  the  pith  of  which  1  here 
embody. 

Schweinrint  li  and  -luiiker,  it  seems,  liad  formed  the 
curious  idea  that  because  tlie  Expedition  was  to  be 
armed  witli  several  hundred  Remingtons  and  a  machine 
gun  (»r  tlic  latest  invention,  it  was  to  ])e  an  offensive 
force  conducted  after  strict  military  rules. 

If  they  had  reflected  at  all  the  very  title  of  the 
Expedition  ou^lit  to  jiave  warned  them  that  they  were 
astray;  tin- cliMiach-r  (»("  tlic  people  who  subscribed  the 
major  [xniion  n\'  ihc  IuikI  (ninlit  to  liax'c  still  more 
assui'cd  llicni  lli;il  their  conrcpt  ion  oC  (he  {Expedition 
was  wide  of  ihr  mark.  It,  is  the  icbcr  of  Vaw'ux  Pasha 
that    is    the    <»l)jc<-l    of    the     lv\|»('(lition.    the   said   relief 


Cairo. 


CONVERSATION   WITH  DH.   JUNKER.  53 

consisting  of  ammunition  in  sufficient  quantity  to  1887. 
enable  him  to  withdraw  from  liis  dangerous  position  in  "'''"•  "**• 
Central  Africa  in  safety,  or  to  hold  his  ow^n  if  he  decides 
to  do  so  for  such  length  of  time  as  he  may  see  fit. 
Considering  the  quality  of  the  escort,  being  mainly 
Zanzibaris  or  freed  slaves,  it  would  be  rash  to  expect  too 
much  from  them.  It  is  already  known  in  Zanzibar  that 
Uganda  is  hostile,  that  Mwanga  massacred  some  sixty  of 
the  followers  of  Bishop  Hannington,  that  the  Masai 
route  has  its  dangers,  tliat  Karagwe  is  tributary  to 
Mwanga,  that  the  Wahha  are  numerous  and  aggressive, 
that  Ruanda  has  never  yet  been  penetrated,  that 
beyond  a  certain  line  whether  on  the  Masai  route  or  the 
Karagwe'  route  there  is  certain  danger ;  and  no  matter 
with  what  cheerfulness  they  would  assert  at  Zanzibar 
their  readiness  to  defy  all  and  every  belligerent, 
African  travellers  remember  how  weak  they  are 
proved  to  be  when  in  actual  presence  of  danger. 
Assuming,  however,  that  this  band  of  600  Zanzibaris 
were  faithful,  consider  their  inexperience  of  these  new 
rifles,  their  wild,  aimless,  harmless  firing,  their  want  of 
discdpline  and  tone,  their  disposition  to  be  horrified  at 
sight  of  the  effects  of  fighting — remember  that  in 
reality  they  are  only  porters  and  do  not  pretend  to  be 
warriors — and  you  will  see  how  very  unequal  such  men 
are  to  the  duties  of  defending  munitions  of  war  in  the 
face  of  an  enemy.  It  was  only  by  stratagem  that  I 
secured  their  services  for  the  desperate  w^ork  of  dis- 
covering the  issue  of  the  great  river  along  which  we 
had  travelled  with  Tippu-Tib,  when  that  now  famous 
Aral)  deserted  me  in  mid-Africa.  It  was  only  that 
there  were  no  other  means  of  escape  that  enabled  me 
with  their  help  to  obtain  a  quiet  retreat  from  savage 
Ituru.  In  many  other  instances  they  proved  that  when 
menaced  with  instant  death  they  could  be  utilized  to 
assist  in  the  preservation  of  their  own  lives  ;  but  to 
expect  them  to  march  faithfully  forward  to  court  the 
dangers  of  fighting  with  the  seductions  of  Unyamwezi 
and  Zanzibar  in  their  rear  would  be  too  much.  In  this 
Expedition  we  cannot  turn  aside  as  formerly  in  presence 


Cairo. 


54  m  DARKEST  APtttCA. 

1887.  of  a  pronounced  hostility  and  seek  more  peaceful 
Jan.  28.  gQuutries  ;  but  our  objective  point  must  be  reached,  and 
risk  must  be  run,  and  the  ammunition  must  be  de- 
posited at  the  feet  of  Emin  Pasha.  Therefore  to  arm 
these  people  with  Remingtons  or  machine  guns  is  not 
enough — you  must  cut  off  their  means  of  retreat,  allow- 
no  avenue  of  escape — then  they  will  stand  together  like 
men,  and  w^e  may  expect  the  object  of  the  Expedition  to 
be  attained,  even  if  we  have  now  and  again  to  meet 
bows  and  spears  or  guns. 

Regarding  Emin  Pasha  my  information  is  various. 

From  Dr.  Junker  I  learn  that  Emin  Pasha  is  tall,* 
thin  and  exceedingly  short-sighted  ;  that  he  is  a  great 
linguist,  Turkish,  Arabic,  German,  French,  Italian  and 
English  being  familiar  to  him  ;  to  these  languages  may 
be  added  a  few  of  the  African  dialects.  He  does  not 
seem  to  have  impressed  Junker  with  his  fighting 
qualities,  though  as  an  administrator,  he  is  sagacious, 
tactful  and  prudent.  His  long  isolation  seems  to  have 
discouraged  him.  He  says,  "  Egypt  does  not  care  for  us 
and  has  forgotten  us  ;  Europe  takes  no  interest  in  what 
we  do."  He  is  German  by  birth,  and  is  about  forty- 
seven  years  old. 

His  force  is  distri])ut('d  among  eight  stations,  from 
200  to  300  men  in  cucli,  say  about  1,800  in  all.  The 
garrisons  of  the  ibur  northcriimost  stations  were 
discontented  and  mutinous  at  last  accounts.  They 
answered  Emin's  advice  to  consolidate  with  reproaches  ; 
his  suggestions  that  they  should  all  withdraw  from  the 
equatorial  pro^'ince  via  Zanzi])ar,  were  responded  to  by 
accusations  tliat  he  intciidiMl  only  to  sell  them  to 
Zanzibar  as  slaves. 

Junker  cannot  give  an  exact  figure  of  the  force  itself, 
<)!•  of"  tlic  Egyptians  ()!•  clerks  or  Congolese  with  Emin, 
])ut  being  (|U('stionc(l  closely  as  (o  details  replied  that 
the  appi-oxiniate  number  of  those  likely  to  return  with 
the  I'j.xpedition  would  be  as  follows:  — 

White     Egyptian     OJliccrs,      10;     non-commissioned 

*  We  conKe(|U('titly  Icnlc  tlui  tiiiiur  iiml(c  long  pantaloons,  aud  they 
were  quite  six  iuclies  too  long. 


INFORMATION  HEGARDING   EM  IN  PASHA. 


S5 


Cairo. 


(black),    15  ;    white    clerks    (Copts),    20  ;    bku^ks    from      i«87. 
Dongola,  Wady  Haifa,  etc.,    300,  =  men    345.      White-    •'""• -^ 
women,  22;  blackwomen,    137;  =  women    150,   children 
of  officers,   40;    soldiers'  children,   GO  =  children    100.= 
Total  604. 

Besides    these    the    native    troops    on    perceiving    a 


THE    KHEDlVli    J  I:\M1K 


general  withdrawal,  may  also  desire  to  return  with  their 
friends  and  comrades  to  Egypt.  It  is  impossible  to  state 
what  may  ])e  the  effect  on  their  minds  of  the  appearance 
of  the  Relief  Expedition.  The  decision  of  Emin  Pasha, 
to  remain  or  withdraw,  wdll  probably  influence  the 
majority. 


Cairo. 


56  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1-887.  I  expect  my  men  from  Wady  Haifa  to  be  here  this 

Jan.  28.  aftemooii.  They  will  be  armed,  equipped  and  rationed 
at  the  Citadel,  and  on  Thursday  will  accompany  me  to 
Suez.  The  Navarino  is  supposed  to  arrive  at  Suez  the 
day  following,  when  we  will  embark  and  })e  off. 

Received  telegrams  from  London.  Reports  from  a 
well-known  person  at  Cairo  has  reached  newspapers 
that  Eniin  Pasha  had  fought  his  way  through  Uganda 
after  some  desperate  struggles,  and  that  the  Egyptian 
Government  had  placed  difficulty  in  way  of  Expedition. 
Replied  that  such  facts  were  unknown  in  Cairo. 

February  1st. — Saw  Sir  Evelyn  Baring  at  10.45  A.M. 
Accompanied  him  to  Khedive  Tewfik.  His  Highness 
is  most  amiable  and  good-looking.  Fine  palace  within, 
abundance  of  room,  a  host  of  attendants,  &c.  Am 
invited  to  breakfast  with  Khedive  at  noon  to-morrow. 

Taken  later  by  Sir  Evelyn  to  General  Grenfell's  office 
respecting  suggestion  made  to  me  last  night,  at 
General  Stephenson's  by  Valentine  Baker  Pasha,  that  I 
must  assure  myself  that  tlie  Remington  ammunition 
furnished  V)y  Egyptian  Government  was  sound,  as  his 
experience  of  it  was  that  50  per  cent,  was  bad.  "  You 
must  think  then,"  said  he,  "  if  the  ammunition  is  so 
j)oor  already  what  it  will  ])e  al)()ut  a  year  hence  when 
you  meet  Emin,  after  liumidity  of  tropics." 

General  (irenfell  said  lie  had  already  tested  the 
ammunition,  and  would  make  another  trial,  since 
Valentine  Baker  Pasha  cntortaiiuMl  such  an  opinion  of  it. 

Fehraari/  'Ind. — lireakfast  with  Khedive  Tewfik.  He 
protests  his  patriotism,  and  loves  his  country.  He  is 
certainly  most  unaticcti'd  and  genial. 

Before  leaving  Khedive,  the  following  Kirnian  or 
Ili'jh  nidci',  was  given  to  me  open  with  the  English 
translation. 

Translati(>n. 

Co]ni  of  (I  Hi'jli  Aidhir.  Ordrr  to  Knuii  ]\i,sJta,  dated 
Hth,  Gmuad  Airal  I :',{)).  ( I  .s7  Frlirudr;/^  1887.      No.  3). 

*' We  liaV(;  abcadx'  (  hanked  \(»u  and  )'our  oificers  for 
tlHi    [)lucky    and    sucecsslul    dclenee    of     the    Egyptian 


LETTER   FJWM    THE   KHEDIVE   TO   EMIN  PASHA.       57 

Equatorial  provinces  eiitiu.sted  to  your  charge,  and  for  i887. 
the  firmness  you  have  shown  with  your  fellow-officers  '"''''■  ^ 
under  your  command. 

And  we  therefore  have  rewarded  you  in  raising  your 
rank  to  that  of  Lewa  Pasha  (Brigadier-General).  We 
liave  also  approved  the  ranks  you  thought  necessary  to 
give  to  the  officers  under  your  cliarge.  As  I  have  already 
written  to  you  on  the  29  November,  1886,  No.  31,  and 
it  must  have  reached  you  with  other  documents  sent  by 
His  Excellency  Nubar  Pasha,  President  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers. 

And,  since  it  is  our  sincerest  desire  to  relieve  you  w^ith 
your  officers  and  soldiers  from  the  difficult  position  you 
are  in,  our  Government  have  made  up  their  mind  in 
the  manner  by  which  you  may  be  relieved  with  officers 
and  soldiers  from  your  troubles. 

And  as  a  mission  for  the  relief  has  been  formed  under 
the  command  of  Mr.  Stanley,  the  famous  and  experienced 
Afric-an  Explorer,  whose  reputation  is  well  known 
throughout  the  world  ;  and  as  he  intends  to  set  out  on 
his  Expedition  with  all  the  necessary  provisions  for  you 
so  that  he  may  bring  you  here  with  officers  and  men  to 
Cairo,  by  the  route  which  Mr.  Stanley  may  think  proper 
to  take.  Consequently  we  have  issued  this  High  Order 
to  you,  and  it  is  sent  to  you  by  the  hand  of  Mr.  Stanley 
to  let  you  know  what  has  been  done,  and  as  soon  as  it 
will  reach  you,  I  charge  you  to  convey  my  best  wishes 
to  the  officers  and  men — and  you  are  at  full  liberty  with 
regard  to  your  leaving  for  Cairo  or  your  stay  there  with 
officers  and  men. 

Our  Government  has  given  a  decision  for  paying  your 
salaries  with  that  of  the  officers  and  men. 

Those  who  wish  to  stay  there  from  the  officers  and 
men  they  may  do  it  on  their  own  responsibility,  and 
they  may  not  expect  any  assistance  from  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Try  to  understand  the  contents  well,  and  make  it 
well-known  to  all  the  officers  and  men,  that  they  may 
be  aware  of  what  they  are  going  to  do. 

(Signed)     Mehemet  Tewfik." 


58  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  In  the  evening  Tigrane  Paslia  brought  to  me  Nubar 

Keb.  2.    Pasha's — the  Prime  Minister — letter  of  recall  to  Emin. 
^'="''"-     It  wa.s  read  to  me  and  then  sealed. 

We  stand  thus,  then ;  Junker  does  not  think  Emin  will 
abandon  the  Province ;  the  English  subscribers  to  the 
fund  hope  he  will  not,  but  express  nothing  ;  they  leave 
it  to  Emin  to  decide ;  the  English  Government  would 
prefer  that  he  would  retire,  as  his  Province  under  present 
circumstances  is  almost  inaccessible,  and  certainly  he,  so 
far  removed,  is  a  cause  of  anxiety.  The  Khedive  sends 
the  above  order  for  Emin  to  accept  of  our  escort,  but 
says,  "  You  may  do  as  you  please.  If  you  decline  our 
proffered  aid  you  are  not  to  expect  further  assistance 
from  the  G-overnment."  Nubar  Pasha's  letter  conveys 
the  wishes  of  the  Egyptian  Government  which  are  in 
accordance  with  those  of  the  English  Government,  as 
expressed  by  Sir  Evelyn  Baring. 

Fehruainj  Zrd. — Left  Cairo  for  Suez.  At  the  station 
to  wish  me  success  were  Sir  Evelyn  and  Lady  Baring, 
Generals  Stephenson,  Grenfell,  Valentine  Baker,  Abliate 
Pasha,  Professor  Schweinfurth  and  Dr.  Junker.  The 
latter  and  sixty-one  soldiers  (Soudanese)  from  Wady 
Haifa  accompanied  me.  At  Zagazig,  Surgeon  T.  H. 
Parke,  now  an  enrolled  member  of  the  Expedition,  joined 
me.  At  Ismail  ia  our  party  were  increased  by  Giegler 
Pasha.  At  Suez  met  Mr.  James  S.  Jameson,  the 
naturalist  of  the  Expedition.  Mr.  Bonny  of  the  Hospital 
Statf  Corps,  and  Baruti,  will  arrive  to-morrow  per 
Garonne  of  the  Orient  line. 

Fehruari/  Gfli. — l^reakfasted  with  Captain  Beyts,  Agent 
of  the  Britisli  India  Steam  Navigation  CVmipany.  At 
2  I'.M.  ('apt.  Beyts  eml)arkcd  with  us  on  hoard  li oh  Ii'oy, 
a  new  steamer  just  built  f  )r  him,  and  we  steamed  out  to 
the  Suez  liarbour  where  tlie  Xnrarino  from  London  is  at 
.•iiiclior.  At  f)  P.M.,  aflei-  Ciicmllx'  wishes  from  Captain 
l)eyts  and  my  good  jiiciid  I  )r.  .luiiker,  to  whom  I  had 
become  greatly  att;uli(M|  Jm-  (lie,  n-.d  worth  in  him,  the 
Navdriiiii  saile(|  lor  Aden. 

I^'chruari/  S///.- Weather  u;i'()ws  wai-ni.  Tlier.  Eali.  74° 
at    8  A.M.   iu  Captain's  (;abiu.       My  J^viiropean  servant 


Aden. 


AEliTVAL   AT  MOMBASA.  59 

asked  me  if  this  was  the  Red  Sea  througli  which  we  were     i887 
saiHng.      "  Yes,"  I  replied.     "  Well,  sir,  it  looks  more    ^^^''■ 
like  a  black  sea  than  a  red  one, '  was  his  profound  re- 
mark. 

Fehruary  Vlth. — Reached  Aden  at  2  a.m.  We  now 
change  steamers.  Navarino  proceeds  to  Bonil)ay.  The 
B.I.S.N.  steamer  Oriental  takes  us  to  Zanzibar.  (Jn 
board  the  latter  steamer  we  met  Major  Barttelot.  Cabled 
to  Zanzibar  following  : — 

"  Mackenzie,  Zanzibar. 

"  Your  telegram  yery  gratifying.  Please  engage  twenty  yonng  lads 
as  oflBcers'  .servants  at  lower  rate  than  men.  "We  leave  to-day  with  eight 
Europeans,  sixty-one  Soudanese,  two  Syrians,  thirteen  Somalis.  Pro- 
vision transport  steamer  acicordingly." 

The  first-class  passengers  include  self,  Barttelot,  Stairs, 
Jephson,  Kelson,  Parke,  Bonny,  Count  Pfeil,  and  two 
German  companions  bound  for  Rufiji  River. 

Fchruarij  lOfli. — Arrived  off  Lamu  at  3  P.M.  Soon 
after  s.s.  Baglulad  came  in  wdth  Dr.  Lenz,  the  Austrian 
traveller,  wdio  had  started  to  proceed  to  Emin  Bey,  but 
failing,  came  across  to  Zanzibar  instead.  He  is  on  his 
way  home.  Having  failed  in  his  purpose,  he  will  blame 
Africa  and  abuse  the  Congo,  especially.  It  is  natural 
wdth  all  classes  to  shift  the  blame  on  others,  and  I  feel 
assured  Lenz  will  be  no  exception. 

Fehruary  20 /h. — Arrived  at  Mombasa.  Was  told  that 
a  great  battle  had  been  fought  lately  between  the  Gallas 
and  Somalis.  The  former  are  for  the  Germans,  the  latter 
are  declared  enemies  to  them.  We  also  hear  that 
Portuffid  has  declared  war  against  Zanzibar,  or  somethina: 
like  it. 

Best  place  for  commercial  depot  is  on  right  hand  of 
northern  entrance,  first  point  within  harbour ;  it  is 
blufi}',  dips  sheer  down  into  deep  w^ater,  with  timber 
floated  along  base  of  bluff,  and  long-armed  derricks  on 
edge  of  bluff,  steamers  might  be  unloaded  and  loaded 
with  ease.  Cocoa-nut  palms  abundant.  Good  view  of 
sea  from  it.  If  Mombasa  becomes  an  English  port — 
as  I  hope  it  will  shortly — the  best  position  of  new 
town  would   be   along    face  of   bluff   frontino-   seaward 


60  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  on  island  just  where  old  Portuguese  port  is ;  a  light 
Feb.  22.  railway  and  some  draught  mules  would  land  on  train 
all  goods  irom  harbour. 

February  22nd. — Arrived  at  Zanzibar.  Acting  Con- 
sul-General  Holmwood  warmly  proffered  hospitality. 

Instructed  otHcers  to  proceed  on  board  our  transport, 
B.I. S.N.  Co.  Madni^a,  and  to  take  charge  of  Somalis  and 
Soudanese,  and  Mackenzie  to  disembark  forty  donkeys 
and  saddles  from  Madura — route  beins;  changed  there 
was  no  need  for  so  many  animals. 

Eeceived  compliments  from  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  ; 
visits  from  the  famous  Tippu-Tib,  Jaffiir,  son  of  Tarya 
Topan,  his  agent,  and  Kanji  the  Vakeel  of  Tarya. 

Zanzibar  is  somewhat  changed  during  my  eight  years' 
absence.  There  is  a  telegraphic  cable,  a  tall  clock- tower, 
a  new  Sultan's  palace,  very  lofty  and  conspicuous,  with 
wide  verandahs.  The  Custom  House  has  been  enlarsred. 
General  Lloyd  Mathews  has  new  barracks  for  his  Mili- 
tary Police ;  the  promenade  to  Fiddler's  grave  has  been 
expanded  into  a  broad  carriage-way,  which  extends  to 
Sultan's  house  beyond  Mbwenni.  There  are  horses  and 
carriages,  and  steam-rollers,  and  lamp-posts,  at  convenient 
distances,  serve  to  bear  oil-lamps  to  light  the  road  when 
His  Highness  returns  to  city  from  a  country  jaunt. 

There  are  six  German  war-vessels  in  port,  under 
Admiral  Knorr,  H.B.M.S.  Turquoise  and  Reindeer,  ten 
merchant  steamers,  and  a  few  score  of  Arab  dhows,  Bao;- 
galas,  Kanjehs,  and  boats. 

Fehniari/  23rd. — Paid  what  is  called  a  State  visit  to 
His  Iligliness.  As  a  special  mark  of  honour  the  troops, 
und(!r  stout  General  Lloyd  Mathews,  were  drawn  up  in 
two  lines,  al)()ut  300  yards  in  Iciigtii.  A  tolerable  mili- 
tary l)and  saluto(l  us  with  martial  strains,  wliilc  several 
liuinlrcds  of  tlie  j)()j)ulati()n  were  ])ank('d  beliind  the 
soldiers.  The  most  fi-ecjuent  words  I  heard  as  I  passed 
through  with  (Vuisul  Holmwood  were:  "  Ndio  huyu  " — 
"Yes,  it  is  jic !"  by  wlii<li  i  gathered  that  scattered 
;tiMong  the.  crowds  must  lia\ c  liccn  a  large  number  of  my 
old  roHowcrs,  pointing  inc  ont  to  tlicir  friends. 

Slate  visits  arc  nearly  always  alike.      The  "  Preaeut 


Zanzibar, 


VISIT  TO    THE  SULTAN   OF  ZANZIBAR.  61 

arms !"  by  General  Mathews,  tlie  martial  strains,  the  1887. 
large  groups  of  the  superior  Arabs  at  the  hall  porch,  ^"^^  ~■^■ 
the  ascent  up  the  lofty  flights  of  stairs — the  KSultan  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs — the  grave  bow,  the  warm  clasp, 
the  salutation  word,  the  courteous  wave  of  the  hand  to 
enter,  the  slow  march  towards  the  throne — another  cere- 
monious inclination  all  round — the  Prince  taking  his 
seat,  which  intimates  we  may  follow  suit,  the  refresh- 
ments of  sherbet  after  coffee,  and  a  few  remarks  about 
Europe,  and  our  mutual  healths.  Then  the  ceremonious 
departure,  again  the  strains  of  music,^ — Mathews'  sonorous 
voice  at  "  Present  arms  !"  and  we  retire  from  the 
scene  to  doff  our  London  dress-suits,  and  pack  them  up 
with  camphor  to  preserve  them  from  moths,  until  we 
return  from  years  of  travel  "  Through  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent" and  from  "Darkest  Africa." 

In  the  afternoon,  paid   the  business  visit,   first  pre- 
senting the  following  letter  :— 

"  To  His  Highness  Seyyid  Barghash  bin  Said, 
"  Sultan  of  Zanzibar. 

"  Burlinpjton  Hotel, 

"  Old  Burlington  Street,  London,  W. 

"  28//«  January,  1887. 

"  Your  nic,lincf?R, 

'*  I  cannot  allow  another  mail  to  pass  without  writing  to  express 
to  you  my  gniteful  appreciation  of  the  kindly  response  you  made  to  my 
telegram  in  regard  to  assisting  the  Expedition,  which  proceeds  under 
the  leadership  of  Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  to  relieve  Emin  Pasha.  The  cor- 
diality with  which  you  instructed  your  oiBcers  to  assist  in  selecting  the 
best  men  available  is  indeed  a  most  important  service  to  the  Expedition, 
and  I  have  reason  to  know  that  it  has  given  great  satisfaction  in 
England.  Mr.  Stanley  will  reach  Zanzibar  In  about  four  weeks.  He  is 
full  of  enthusiasm  as  the  leader  of  his  interesting  Expedition,  and  his 
chief  reasons  for  selecting  the  Congo  route  are  that  he  may  be  able  to 
convey  the  men  your  Highness  has  so  kindly  assisted  him  in  procuring 
without  fatigue  or  risk  by  sea  to  the  Congo,  and  up  the  river  in  boats  in 
comparative  comfort,  and  they  will  arrive  within  350  miles  of  their 
destination  fresh  and  vigorous  instead  of  being  worn  out  and  jaded  by 
the  fatigue  of  a  long  march  inland.  His  services  will  be  entirely  devoted 
to  the  Expedition  during  its  progress,  and  he  cannot  deviate  from  its 
course  to  perform  service  for  the  Congo  State. 

"  It  is  probable  also  he  will  return  by  the  east  coast  land  route, 
and  as  I  know  him  to  be  deeply  interested  in  yo\ir  Highness's  prosperity 
and  welfare,  I  am  sui*e  if  he  can  render  any  service  to  Your  Highness 
during  his  progress  back  to  the  coast,  he  will  do  so  most  heartily.  I 
have  had  many  conversations  with  him,  and  have  always  found  him 
most  friendly  to  Y'our  Highness's  interests,  and    I  believe  also  the 


Zanzibar. 


62  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.      confidence   of  our  mutual   good   friend.     I  pray  you  in  these  circum- 
Feb  '23.     stances  to  communicate  freely  with  Mr.  Stanley  on  all  points— as  freely 
as  if  I  had  the   honour  of  being  there  to  receive  the  communications 
myself. 

"  With  the  re]ieated  assurance  of  my  hearty  symi>athy  in  all  the  affairs 
that  concern  Your  Highness's  iuterest.s. 

"  T  remain, 
"  Your  very  obedient  servant  and  friend, 

"  W.  MACKINNON." 

We  then  entered  heartily  into  our  business  ;  how  abso- 
lutely necessary  it  was  that  he  should  promptly  enter 
into  an  agreement  with  the  English  within  the  limits 
assigned  by  Anglo-German  treaty.  It  would  take  too 
long  to  describe  the  details  of  the  conversation,  but  I 
obtained  from  him  the  answer  needed. 

"  Please  God  we  shall  agree.  When  you  have  got  the  papers  ready  we 
shall  read  and  sign  without  further  delay  and  the  matter  will  be  over." 

At  night,  wr(^te  the  following  letter  to  Emin  Pasha, 
for  transmission  to-morrow  l)y  couriers  overland,  who 
will  travel  through  Uganda  into  Unyoro  secretly. 

"  To  His  Excellency  Emin  Pasha, 
"  Governor  of  the  Equatorial  Provinces. 

"  H.  B.  Majesty's  Consulate.  Zanzibar, 
"  Dear  Sir,  "  J'ehnmri/  'i3/v/,  LS87. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that  the  Government  of  His  High- 
ness iho  Khedive  of  Egypt,  upon  the  receipt  of  your  urgent  letters 
soliciting  aid  and  instructions,  have  seen  fit  to  depute  me  to  P(piip  an 
Expedition  to  proc(;cd  to  Wadel.ii  to  convey  such  aid  as  they  think  you 
require,  and  to  assist  you  in  other  ways  agreeably  with  the  written 
instructions  wliich  liave  been  delivered  to  mo  for  you. 

"  Having  lieen  ])retty  accurately  informed  of  the  nature  of  yeur  neces- 
sitif'K  from  the  ])erusal  of  your  letters  to  the  Egyptian  Government,  the 
Expfihtion  bas  Iteeii  e(iuip])ed  in  such  a  maimer  as  may  be  supposed  to 
meet  all  your  waiit.s.  As  you  will  gatlier  from  the  letters  of  His  High- 
ness and  the  Prime  Minister  of  Egypt  to  you,  and  wliich  I  bring  with 
me,  all  that  could  possilily  be  done  to  satisfy  your  needs  has  been  done 
most  heartily.  Eroiii  the  translation  of  the  letters  delivered  to  me,  I 
jHirceive  that  they  will  giv((  you  iinniense  satisfaction.  Over  sixty 
soldiers  from  Wady  Haifa  have  been  detailed  to  accom])any  me  in  order 
tiiat  tli('y  may  be  able;  to  (^luiourage  tlie  soMiers  uiid(^r  your  command, 
and  (toiifinu  the  letters,     We  also  march  under  the  I'-gyptiaii  standaid. 

"The  Kxpeilitioii  includes  (iOO  Zauzibari  natives,  and  probably  as 
many  Arab  followers  frnm  Criitral  .Africa. 

"We  sail  to-morrow  from  Zanzibar  to  the  Congo,  and  by  the  IHtb  Juno 
next  we  hope  to  be  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  lTj)])er  Congo. 
From  the  point  when;  we  deimrk  to  the  southern  end  of  Jiake  Albert  is  a 
distance  of  ;"2()  mihs  in  a  straight  line,  say  r>()()  miles  by  road,  whit;h  will 


LETTER    WRITTEN  BY  ME   TO   EM  IN  PASHA.  63 

probaMy  occupy  us  fifty  days  to  march  to  the  south-western  or  southern      m%T. 
eiui,  in  tl;e  neiphl)ourhood  of  Kavalli.  Yah.  23. 

"  If  }our  steamers  are  in  that  neighbourhood,  yoii  will  l)c  able  to  leave    r,      ., 
•word  j)erliaps  at  Kavalli,  or  in  its  neighbourhood,  informing  me  of  your 
"whereabouts. 

"  The  reasons  which  have  obliged  me  to  adopt  this  route  for  the  con- 
veyance of  your  stores  are  various,  but  principally  political.  I  am  also 
impressed  with  the  greater  security  of  that  route  and  the  greater 
certainty  of  success  attending  the  venture  with  less  troul)!e  to  the 
Expedition  and  less  annoyani  e  to  the  natives.  Mwanga  is  a  formidable 
opponent  to  the  south  and  south-east.  The  Wakedi  and  other  warlike 
natives  to  the  eastward  of  Fatiko  op})ose  a  serious  obstacle,  tlie  natives 
of  Kishakka  and  Ruanda  have  never  permitted  strangers  to  enter  their 
country.  En  route  I  do  not  anticipate  much  trouble,  because  there  are 
no  powerful  chiefs  in  the  Congo  basin  capable  of  interrupting  our 
march. 

"  Besides  abundance  of  ammunition  for  your  needs,  oflScial  letters  from 
the  Egyptian  Government,  a  heavy  mail  from  your  numeroiis  friends  and 
admirers,  I  bring  ^ith  me  personal  equipments  for  yourself  and  officers 
suitable  to  the  rank  of  each. 

"  Trusting  that  I  sliall  have  the  satisfaction  of  finding  you  well  and 
safe,  abd  that  nothing  will  induce  you  to  rashly  venture  your  life  and 
liberty  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Uganda,  without  the  ample  means  of 
causing  yourself  and  men  to  be  respected  which  I  am  bringing  to  you, 
"  I  beg  you  to  believe  me, 

"  Yours  very  faithfully, 

"  (Signed)  Henry  M.  Stanley." 

Feliruarij  2ith  and  25th. — On  arriving  at  Zanzibar,  I 
found  our  Agent,  Mr.  Edmund  Mackenzie,  had  managed 
everything  so  well  that  the  Expedition  was  almost  ready 
for  embarkation.  The  steamer  lUadura,  of  the  British 
India  Steam  Navigation  Company,  was  in  harbour,  pro 
^'isioned  and  watered  for  the  voyage.  The  goods  for 
barter,  and  transport  animals,  were  on  board.  There  were 
a  few  things  to  be  done,  however — such  as  arranging  with 
the  famous  Tippu-Til>  about  our  line  of  conduct  towards 
one  another.  Tippu-Tib  is  a  much  greater  man  to-day  than 
he  was  in  the  year  1877,  when  he  escorted  my  caravan, pre 
liminary  to  our  descent  down  the  Congo.  He  has  invested 
his  hard-earned  fortune  in  guns  and  powder.  Adven 
turous  Arabs  have  flocked  to  his  standard,  until  he  is  now 
•an  uncrowned  king  of  the  region  betw^een  Stanley  Falls 
and  Tanganika  Lake,  commanding  many  thousands  of 
men  inured  to  fighting  and  wild  Equatorial  life.  If  I  dis- 
covered hostile  intentions,  my  idea  was  to  give  him  a 
wide  berth  ;  for  the  ammunition  I  had  to  convey  to 
Emin  Pasha,  if  captured  and  employed  by  him,  would  en- 


Zanzibar. 


64  IN  DA  It  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  danger  the  existence  of  the  infant  State  of  the  Congo,  and 
Feb.  24.  iniperil  all  our  hopes.  Between  Tippu-Tip  and  Mwanga, 
King  of  Uganda,  there  was  only  a  choice  of  the  frying- 
pan  and  the  fire.  Tippu-Tib  was  the  Zubehr  of  the 
Congo  Basin — ^just  as  formidable  if  made  an  enemy,  as 
the  latter  would  have  been  at  the  head  of  his  slaves. 
Between  myself  and  Gordon  there  had  to  be  a  difference 
in  dealing  with  our  respective  Zubehrs  ;  mine  had  no 
animus  against  me  personally  ;  my  hands  were  free,  and 
my  movements  unfettered.  Therefore,  with  due  caution, 
I  sounded  Tippu-Tib  on  the  first  day,  and  found  him 
fully  prepared  for  any  eventuality — to  fight  me,  or  be 
employed  by  me.  I  chose  the  latter,  and  we  proceeded 
to  business.  His  aid  was  not  required  to  enal)le  me  to 
reach  Emin  Pasha,  or  to  show  the  road.  There  are  four 
good  roads  to  Wadelai  from  the  Congo  ;  one  of  them 
was  in  Tippu-TilVs  power,  the  remaining  three  are  clear 
of  him  and  his  myriads.  But  Dr.  Junker  informed  me 
that  Emin  Pasha  possessed  about  75  tons  of  ivory. 
vSo  much  ivory  would  amount  to  £60,000,  at  8s:  per  lb. 
The  subscription  of  Egypt  to  the  Emin  Pasha  Fund  is 
large  for  her  depressed  finance.  In  this  quantity  of 
ivory  we  had  a  possible  means  of  recouping  her  Treasury 
— with  a  large  sum  left  towards  defraying  expenses,  and 
perhaps  leaving  a  handsome  present  for  the  Zanzibari 
survivors. 

W'liy  not  attemj)t  tlie  carriage  of  this  ivory  to  the 
Congo  ?  Af'cordingly,  I  wished  to  engage  Tippu-Til)  and 
his  people  to  assist  me  in  conveying  the  ammunition  to 
Emin  Pasha,  and  on  return  to  carry  this  ivory.  After  a 
good  deal  of  l)argaining  1  entered  into  a  contract  with 
him,  by  which  he  agreed  to  suppl>'  GOO  carriers  at  £6 
per  loaded  head  —  oacTi  round  trij)  from  Stanley  Falls  to 
Lake  Al})ert  and  back.  Tims,  if  each  carrier  carries 
70  lbs.  weight  of  ivory,  one.  round  trip  will  bring  to  the 
Fund  £13,200  nctt  at  Stanley  Falls. 

On  the  conclusion  of  this  conti'act.  which  was  entered 
into  in  presence  of  the  llritish  ( 'oiisnl-(  Jeneral,  I 
broached  anothci-  snlijcct  in  I  he  name  of  His  Majesty 
King  Leopold   with   'i'i[)|)n  Til).      Stanley    Falls    station 


Zanzibar. 


NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    TIP PU- TIB.  (55 

was  established  by  me  in  December  1883.  Various  i887. 
Eurojieans  have  since  commanded  this  station,  and  Mr.  ''"''■  '^'^' 
Binnie  and  Lieut.  Wester  of  tlie  Swedisli  Army  had 
succeeded  in  making  it  a  well-ordered  and  presentable 
station.  Captain  Deane,  his  successor,  C[uarrelled  with 
the  Arabs,  and  at  his  forced  departure  from  the  scene 
set  fire  to  the  station.  The  object  for  which  the  station 
was  established  was  the  prevention  of  the  Arabs  from 
pursuing  their  devastating  career  below  the  Falls,  not 
so  much  l)y  force  as  by  tact,  or  rather  the  happy  com- 
bination of  both.  By  the  retreat  of  the  officers  of  the 
State  from  Stanley  Falls,  the  floodgates  were  opened 
and  the  Aral:)s  pressed  down  river.  Tippu-Tib  being  of 
course  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  Arabs  west  of  Tanganika 
Lake,  it  was  advisable  to  see  how  far  his  aid  might  be 
secured  to  check  this  stream  of  Arabs  from  destroying 
the  country.  After  the  interchange  of  messages  by 
cable  with  Brussels — on  the  second  day  of  my  stay  at 
Zanzibar — I  signed  an  engagement  with  Tippu-Tib  by 
whic'li  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Stanley  Falls  at  a 
regular  sahiry,  paid  monthly  at  Zanzil)ar,  into  the  British 
Consul-General's  hands.  His  duties  will  be  principally 
to  defend  Stanley  Falls  in  the  name  of  the  State  against 
all  Arabs  and  natives.  The  flag  of  the  station  will  be 
that  (jf  the  State.  At  all  hazards  he  is  to  defeat  and 
capture  all  persons  raiding  territory  for  slaves,  and  to 
disperse  all  Ixxlies  of  men  who  may  be  justly  suspected 
of  \'iolent  designs.  He  is  to  abstain  from  all  slave  traffic 
})elow  the  Falls  himself,  and  to  prevent  all  in  his  com- 
mand trading  in  slaves.  Li  order  to  ensure  a  faithful 
performance  of  his  engagement  with  the  State,  an  Euro- 
pean officer  is  to  be  appointed  Resident  at  the  Falls. 
On  the  l)reacli  of  any  article  in  the  contract  being 
reported,  the  salary  is  to  cease. 

Meantime,  while  I  was  engaged  with  these  negotia- 
tions, Mr.  Mackenzie  had  paid  four  months'  advance 
pay — $12,415 — to  620  men  and  boys  enlisted  in  the 
Relief  Expedition,  and  as  fast  as  each  batch  of  fifty  men 
was  satisfactorily  paid,  a  barge  was  hauled  alongside  and 
the  men  were  duly  embarked,  and  a  steam  launcli  towed 

VOL*  I.  F 


Zanzibar 


66  IN  DARKEST  AFIiWA. 

1887.  the  barge  to  the  transport.  By  5  p.m.  all  hands  were 
Feb.  2d.  a]3Qj^i>(]^^  an(j  i\yQ  steamer  moved  off  to  a  more  distant 
anchorage.  By  midnight  Tippu-Tib  and  his  people  and 
every  person  connected  with  the  Expedition  was  on 
board,  and  at  daybreak  next  day,  the  25tli  February, 
the  anchor  was  lifted,  and  we  steamed  away  towards  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

So  far  there  had  not  been  a  hitch  in  any  arrangement. 
Difficulties  had  been  smoothed  as  if  by  magic.  Every- 
body had  shown  the  utmost  sympathy,  and  been  prompt 
with  the  assistance  required.  The  officers  of  the  Expe- 
dition were  kept  fully  employed  from  morning  to 
evening  at  laborious  tasks  connected  with  the  repacking 
of  the  ammunition  for  Emin  Pasha's  force. 

Before  concluding  these  entries,  I  ought  to  mention 
the  liberal  assistance  rendered  to  the  Relief  Expedition 
by  Sir  John  Pender,  K.C.M.d.,  and  the  Eastern  Tele- 
graph Company.  All  my  telegrams  from  Egypt,  Aden 
and  Zanzibar,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  several 
hundred  words  were  despatched  free,  and  as  each  word 
from  Zanzibar  to  Europe  ordinarily  costs  eight  shillings 
per  word,  some  idea  of  the  pecuniary  value  of  the  favour 
conferred  may  be  obtained.  On  my  return  from  Africa 
this  great  privilege  was  again  granted,  and  as  I  received 
a  score  of  cablegrams  per  day  for  several  days,  and 
answers  were  expected,  I  should  speedilv  have  paid 
dearly  t'oi'  tlic  fortunate  rescvu'  of  Emin  Pasha,  and  most 
j)i(ibaM\-  iiiN'  siirring  careei'  liad  cikIcmI  iu  the  Bank- 
ruptcy (  ourt  had  not  Sir  John  l*('n(U'r  and  Sir  James 
Anderson  (|ui(l<l\  icassurecl  me.  Among  the  contri- 
liiiior-  \n  ihe  IJelief  l^'und  lo  a  Very  generous  amount 
I  1  her.  Inic  nia\-  fairly  place  the  names  of  Sir  John 
Tcndei-  ami  Sii' .lames  Anderson  in  Ix'lialf  of  the  Eastern 
Telegraph  ( '(tinpanw  I  slionld  also  state  that  they  were 
prepared  lo  lend  nu;  the  Telegi'aph  steamer  at  Zanzil)ar 
to  eonve\'  ni\'  force  of  carriers  and  soldiei-s  to  the  (V)niro 
had  there  been  an\'  (liHicnltx'  in  I  he  way  of  engaging 
LIk'  B.l.S.N.  ( 'onijian)' s  s.s.    MddinuL. 


CHAPTER  III. 

BY    SEA    TO    THE    CONGO    RIVER. 

The  Snltan  of  Zanzibar— Tippu-Tib  and  Stanley  Falls -On  board 
S.S.  Madura  —  "  Shindy  "  between  the  Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese — 
Sketches  of  my  various  officers  — Tippu-Tib  and  Cape  Town — 
Arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  River — Start  up  the  Congo — 
Visit  from  two  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Congo  State — 
Unpleasant  thoughts. 

The  followiiiix    private  letter  to  a  friend    will    explain      ihst. 
some  tliiuo's  of  o;eueral  interest : —  ^'■■"'^^  ^• 

I  ape  ot 
(jood  Hope. 
SS.  Madura,  March  0th.,  1887, 
T.  r  Near  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

My  dear , 

Apart  from  the  Press  letters  which  are  to  be  published 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Relief  Fund,  and  which  will  contMin 
all  that  the  public  ought  to  know  just  now,  I  shall  have 
somewhat  to  say  to  you  and  other  friends. 

The  Sultan  of  Zanzil)ar  received  me  with  unusual 
kindness,  much  of  which  I  owe  to  the  introduction  of 
Mr.  William  Mackinnon  and  Sir  John  Kirk.  He  pre- 
sented me  with  a  fine  sword,  a  shirazi  blade  I  should 
say,  richly  mounted  with  gold,  and  a  magnificent 
diamond  ring,  which  quite  makes  Tippu-Tib's  eyes 
water.  With  the  sword  is  the  golden  Ijelt  of  His 
Highness,  the  clasp  of  which  l)ears  his  name  in  Araljic. 
It  will  be  useful  as  a  sign,  if  I  come  Ijefore  Ara])s, 
of  the  good  understandino;  between  the  Prince  and 
myself;  and  if  I  reach  the  Egyptian  officers,  scjme  of 
whom  are  probably  illiterate,  they  must  accept  the 
sword  as  a  token  that  we  are  not  traders. 

You  will  have  seen  by  the  papers  that  I  have  taken 
with  me  sixty-one  soldiers — Soudanese.      My  object  has 


68 


7.V  DARKEST  AFL'Tf'A. 


1887.     l)een  to  enable  them  to  speak  for  me  to  the  Soudanese 

March  9.  ^^£  EquatoHa.      The  Egyptians  may  affect  to  (lisl)elieve 

Good  Hoiie.  lirmaus  and  the  writing  of  Nubar,  in  which  case  these 

Soudanese  will  be  pushed  forward  ^s  living  witnesses  of 

my  commission. 

I  have  settled  several  little  commissions  at  Zanzibar 


111  1  1  ^  iii;. 


satisfactorily.  One  w.is  lo  i;ct  the  Sultan  to  sign  the 
(•((iiccssions  wliicli  .M.ickiiiiKni  hied  to  ol)tain  a  lontr 
time  ago.  As  t  lie  ( Icnii.iiis  have  magnificent  territory 
<;ast  of  Zanzibar,  it  was  but  fjiir  ih.it  England  should 
have  some  portion  lor  the  protect  ion  she  lias  accorded 
to    Zanzibar    since    Jyij.      The    (Germans    appeared    to 


LITTLE   COMMISSIONS  AT  Z AN Z  IB  AH.  00 

have  recognized  this,  as  you  may  see  l)y  tlic  late  Anglo-  i«87. 
German  Agreement.  France  had  already  obtained  an  '^'■"'^'*' ^• 
immense  area  in  West  Africa.  All  the  world  had  agreed  Good  Hope 
to  constitute  the  domain  of  King  Leopold,  on  which  he 
had  spent  a  million  sterling,  as  the  Independent  State 
of  the  Congo.  Portugal,  wdiicli  is  a  chronic,  gruml)ler, 
and  does  little,  and  that  little  in  a  high-handed,  illil)eral 
manner,  has  also  l:)een  graciously  considered  by  the 
European  Powders  ;  hut  England,  which  had  sent  out  her 
explorers,  Livingstone,  Burton,  Speke,  (Jiant,  P>aker, 
Keith  Johnston,  Thomson,  Elton,  &c.,  had  ol)taiiicd 
nothing,  and  probably  no  people  had  taken  such  iiiicrest 
in  the  Dark  Continent,  or  had  undergone  such  saciifices 
in  behalf  of  the  aborigines,  as  the  Englisli.  Her 
cruisers  for  the  last  twenty  years  had  policed  the  ocean 
along  the  coast  to  suppress  slave-catching ;  her  missions 
were  twenty-two  in  numl)er,  settled  between  East  and 
AVest  Africa.  This  concession  that  we  wished  to  oljtain 
eml)ra(ied  a  portion  of  the  East  African  coast,  of  wdiich 
Mom])asa  and  ^lelindi  were  the  principal  tow^is.  For 
eight  years,  to  my  knowledge,  the  matter  had  been 
placed  before  His  Highness,  but  the  Sultan's  signature 
was  difficult  to  obtain. 

Arriving  at  Zanzibar,  I  saw  the  Sultan  was  aging, 
and  that  he  had  not  long  to  live.*  Englishmen  could 
not  invest  money  in  the  reserved  "  sphere  of  influence  " 
until  some  such  concessions  were  sig^ned. 

"  Please  God,"  said  the  Sultan,  "  we  shall  agree ; 
there  will  be  no  further  doubt  about  the  matter."  But 
his  political  anxieties  are  wearing  him  fast,  and  unless 
this  matter  is  soon  completed  it  wdll  be  too  late. 

The  other  affair  was  with  Tippu-Tik  He  had  actu- 
ally in  his  possession  three  Krupp  shells,  unloaded, 
which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  Stanley  Falls,  on 
the  Upper  Congo,  to  Zanzibar,  to  exhibit  to  his  friends 
as  the  kind  of  missiles  which  the  Belgians  pelted  his 
settlements  with — and  he  was  exceedingly  wroth,  and 
nourished  a  deep  scheme  of  retaliation.  It  took  me 
some  time  to  quiet  his  spasms  of  resentment.  People 
*  Seyyid  Barghash  died  six  months  later. 


70  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  very  furious  must  be  allowed  time  to  vent  their  anger. 
March  9.  ^yj^gn  he  had  poured  out  his  indignation  some  time,  I 
Good  Hope,  quietly  asked  him  if  he  had  finished,  saying,  in  a  bland 
way,  that  I  knew  well  how  great  and  powerful  he  was,  etc. , 
and  I  told  him  that  it  was  scarcely  fair  to  blame  all  the 
Europeans  and  King  Leopold  because  an  officer  at 
Stanley  Falls  had  been  pleased  to  heave  Krupp  shells  at 
his  settlements  ;  that  this  trouble  had  been  caused  by 
the  excess  of  zeal  of  one  man  in  defending  a  slave  woman 
who  had  sought  his  protection,  in  the  same  way  that 
Rashid,  his  nephew,  had  been  carried  away  by  the  fury 
of  youth  to  defend  his  rights.  The  Governor  of  the 
Congo  State  was  absent  nearly  1500  miles  down  the 
river,  and  Tippu-Til),  the  owner  of  the  settlements,  was 
several  hundred  miles  eastward  on  the  way  to  Zanzibar. 
Now  I  look  upon  this  affair  as  the  result  of  a  match 
between  one  young  white  man  and  a  young  Arab.  The 
gray  heads  are  absent  who  would  have  settled  the 
trouble  without  fighting  :  youths  are  always  "  on  their 
muscle,"  you  know. 

"  Do  you  know,"  I  continued,  "  that  that  station  has 
given  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  We  sent  Amelot,  you 
remember.  Well,  he  just  left  the  station  without 
orders,  and  died  somewhere  near  Nyangwe  ;  then  the  next, 
(jileerup,  a  Swede,  followed  suit,  and  travelled  across 
Africa  instead  ;  tlien  we  sent  Deane,  and  for  a  change 
lie  would  have  war  witli  tlie  Arabs.  King  Leopold  is 
not  to  blame  for  all  this.  It  is  a  difficult  tiling  to  get 
iiK'ii  who  arc  iilwaxs  wise,  aiid  understand  thoroughly 
what  their  orders  are.  If  King  Leopold  had  sent  Deane 
to  light  \'ou,  he  wouhl  not  Iwue  sent  him  with  thirty 
men,  you  may  be  sni-e." 

Now,  look  hei'e.  lie  ])roposes  that  you  try  your 
hand  at  governing  that  station,  lie  will  pay  you  every 
month  what  he  would  pa\-  an  Mui(»|>eaii  ofheer.  '^Phere 
arti  certain  little  conditions  that  you  must  comply  with 
Ixifore  you  become  ( lovenior." 

'l'i|:)j)U-Til»  o[)(iic(|  his  e\'cs  and  snappc(i  tlicin  I'apidly, 
us  his  custoiii  is,  ami  asked,  "  .Me  ;" '' 

"  Yes,   you.      ^ On    lil<e    money  ;    1    (tiler  you    money. 


AGREEMENTS    WITH    TIPPU-TIB.  71 

You    have  a  grudge    against    white  men    ])eing    there.      i887. 
Well,  if  you  do  your  work  rightly  there  will  l)e  no  need   ^^^'"''^ '^• 
for  any  white  men,  except  him  whom  we  shall  have  to  (^- '"j'ji.'jj.e 
place    under    you,   to    see    that  the  conditions  are  not 
broken." 

"  Well,  what  are  they  ?  " 

"  You  must  hoist  the  flag  of  the  State.  You  must 
allow  a  Resident  to  be  with  you,  who  will  write  your 
reports  to  the  King.  You  must  neither  trade  in  slaves, 
nor  allow  anybody  else  to  trade  in  them  below  Stanley 
Falls.  Nor  must  there  l)e  any  slave-catching  ;  you  under- 
stand. Such  trade  as  you  make  in  ivory,  gums,  ru])ber, 
cattle,  and  anything  else,  you  may  do  as  much  as  you 
please.  But  tliere  is  to  be  no  pillaging  native  property 
of  any  description  whatever  below  your  station.  A 
monthly  allowance  will  l)e  paid  into  the  hands  of  your 
Agent  at  Zanziljar.  Don't  answer  right  away.  Go  and 
discuss  it  with  your  friends,  and  think  of  what  I  offer 
you.  My  ship  sails  on  the  third  day.  Give  me  your 
answer  to-morrow." 

A  favoural)le  answer  was  given,  a  proper  agreement 
was  drawn  up  before  the  Consul-General,  and  we  both 
signed. 

I  made  another  agreement  with  him  about  the  en- 
gagement of  carriers  to  carry  ammunition  to  Lake 
Albert  from  the  Congo.  If  there  is  no  ivory  I  shall  be 
indebted  to  Tippu-Tib  for  the  sum  of  £3,600.  But 
there  must  be  some,  as  both  Emin  Pasha  and  Dr.  Junker 
declare  there  is  a  large  store  of  it.  At  the  same  time 
I  shall  not  risk  the  Expedition  for  the  sake  of  the 
ivory. 

In  consideration  of  these  services  which  Tippu-Tib 
has  solemnly  contracted  to  perform,  I  permitted  him 
free  passage  for  himself  and  ninety-six  of  his  kinsmen 
from  Zanzibar  to  the  Congo,  with  board  included.  I 
also  undertook  the  responsibility  of  conveying  the 
entire  party  safely  to  Stanley  Falls,  thus  incurring  not 
a  small  expense,  but  which  if  faithfully  performed  w^ill 
be  amply  paid  for  by  the  services  mentioned  in  the 
articles  of  agreement.     These  negotiations  with  Tippu- 


/2  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  Til)  also  ensure  iov  us  a  peaceful  march  from  the  Congo 
Manh  9.  ^}^^.Qug}i  j^^g  territory,  a  thing  that  would  have  })een 
GoodHope.  l^y  110  means  possible  without  him — as  his  various 
hordes  of  raiders  wdll  be  widely  scattered  throughout 
the  region  ;  and  it  is  scarcely  likely  that  we  should  be 
allowed  to  pass  in  peace,  resenting,  as  they  must  naturally 
d( »,  their  late  rupture  with  Deane.  Having  bound  Tippu- 
Til)  to  me  I  feel  somewhat  safe  against  that  constant 
fear  of  desertion  of  the  Zanzibaris.  No  Arab  will  now 
persuade  the  people  to  desert,  as  is  their  custom  when 
a  white  man's  Expedition  passes  near  their  settlements. 
Tippu-Tilj  dare  not  countenance  such  proceedings  in 
this  case. 

The  Madura  is  a  comfortal^le  steamer.  On  the 
Oriental  and  Navarino  we  were  uncomfortably  crowded. 
Tween  decks  abreast  of  the  boilers  is  rather  a  hot  place 
for  the  people  ;  but  we  have  had  agreeable  weather,  and 
the  men  have  preferred  to  stow  themselves  in  the  boats, 
and  among  the  donkeys,  and  on  deck,  to  the  baking 
heat  below. 

Two  hours  from  Zanzibar,  what  is  called  a  "shindy" 
took  place  between  the  Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese. 
For  a  short  time  it  appeared  as  though  we  should  have 
to  return  to  Zanzibar  with  many  dead  and  wounded. 
It  rose  from  a  struggle  for  room.  The  Soudanese  had 
been  located  directly  in  the  way  of  the  Zanzibaris,  who, 
being  ten  times  more  numerous,  required  breathing 
space.  They  were  all  professed  Moslems,  but  no  one 
thought  of  their  religion  as  they  seized  upon  firewood 
and  pieces  of  ])laiikiiig  to  Itatter  and  l)i'uise  each  other. 
The  Icitlh-  hnd  i'age(l  some  time  liefore  I  heard  of  it. 
As  1  looked  down  the  h;it(liwa\'  th(^  siglit  was  fearful — 
])lood  fi'eelv  flowecl  down  a  score  of  faces,  and  ugly 
pieces  of  lii'cwood  Hew  aboni  \-er\'  li\-el\'.  A  command 
couM  no(  he  he.ir<I  in  lh;il  n|)i'<iai',  and  some  of  us 
joincfl  ill  with  shiih'h'iuhs,  directing  our  attacks  upon 
the  noisiest.  1 1  re((nii-ed  a  mixture  of  persuasiveness  and 
shai'p  knocks  lo  ic(hice  the  fractious  factions  to  order, 
es[)e(;ially  with  the  Soudanese  niiiioi'itw  who  are  huge 
fcMows.       '^J^hc;    Soiuhinese    were    miinheil    out    of    their 


*  shindy'   between  ZANZIBAEIS   and    SOUDANESE.    73 

place  and   located   aft,  and    the  Zanziljari.s  liad   all    the      issr. 
forward  half  of  the  ship  to  themselves.      After  we  had   ''^''"■' ''  ^; 
wiped    the    l)lood    and    perspiration     away    I    conipli-  r.„od'H'.i.e. 
niented   the   officers,  especially    Jephson,    Nelson,    and 
Bonny,  for  their   share   in    the    fray.       They   had  be- 
haved   most   gallantly.     The  result   of  the  scrimmage 
is  ten  broken  arms,  fifteen  serious  gashes  with  spears 
on    the  face    and    head,   and    contusions   on    shoulders 
and  Itacks  not  worth  I'cmark,  and  several  abrasions  of 
the  lower  limbs. 

Surgeon  Parke  has  been  very  busy  vaccinating  the 
entire  community  on  l)oard  ship.  Fortunately  I  had 
procured  a  large  supply  of  lymph  for  this  purpose, 
])ecause  of  the  harsh  experience  of  the  past. 

We  also  divided  the  people  into  seven  companies  of 
about  ninety  men  each. 

I  have  ordered  my  Agent  to  send  me  200  loads  of 
various  goods  to  meet  the  Expedition  at  Msalala,  south 
end  of  Lake  Victoria.  They  will  be  sent  about  October 
or  November,  1887,  arriving  at  Msalala  in  February  or 
March,  1888,  because  if  everything  proceeds  as  I  should 
wish,  we  shall  be  somewhere  near  there  not  very  long 

after  that  date. 

***** 

I  have  l)een  in  the  company  of  my  officers  since  I 
left  Aden,  and  I  have  been  quietly  observing  them.  I 
will  give  you  a  sketch  of  them  as  they  appear  to  me 
now. 

Barttelot  is  a  little  too  eager,  and  will  have  to  be 
restrained.  There  is  alumdance  of  work  in  him,  and  this 
equality  would  be  most  lovely  if  it  w^re  always  according 
to  orders.  The  most  valuable  man  to  me  would  be  he 
who  had  Barttelot's  spirit  and  "  go  "  in  him,  and  who 
could  come  and  ask  if  such  and  such  a  work  ought  to 
be  done.  Such  a  course  sugo-ests  thoua-htfulness  and 
willingness,  besides  proper  respect. 

There  is  a  great  deal  in  Mounteney  Jephson,  though 
he  was  supposed  to  be  effeminate.  He  is  actually  fierce 
when  roused,  and  his  fxce  becomes  dangerously  set  and 
fixed.      I  noted  him  during  the  late  battle  aboard,  and 


74  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     I  came  near  crying  out  "  Bravo,  Jephson  !  "  though  I 

March  9.  j^^^j  ^^^  ^^^^^  stlclv,  "  big  as  a  mast,"  as  the  Zanzibaris 

GuodHope-  ^^7'   ^^  wield.     It  was  most  galhmt  and  plucky.     He 

will    be   either   made   or    marred    if    he    is   with    this 

Expedition  long  enough. 

Captain  Nelson  is  a  fine  fellow,  and  without  the 
ghost  of  a  hobby  :  he  is  the  same  all  round,  and  at  all 
hours. 

Stairs,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  is  a  splendid  fellow, 
painstaking,  ready,  thoughtful,  and  industrious,  and  is 
an  invaluable  addition  to  our  staff. 

Jameson  is  still  the  nice  fellow  we  saw ;  there  is 
not  an  atom  of  chang-e  in  him.  He  is  sociable  and 
good. 

Bonny  is  the  soldier.  He  is  not  initiative.  He 
seems  to  have  been  under  a  martinet's  drill. 

***** 

March  im,  1887. 

At  Cape  Town,  Tippu-Tib,  after  remarking  the  pros- 
perity and  business  stir  of  the  city,  and  hearing  its 
liistory  from  me,  said  that  he  formerly  had  thought  all 
white  men  to  be  fools. 

"  Really,"  I  said  ;  "  Why  ?  " 

"  That  was  my  opinion." 

"  Indeed  !  and  what  do  you  think  of  them  now  ?  "  1 
asked. 

"  I  tliiiik  tlicy  have  something  in  them,  and  that 
tliey  are  more  enterprising  than  Arabs." 

"  What  makes  you  tliiuk  so.  ]);ii'ti('ul;u'ly  now?  " 

"  Well,  myself  aiul  kinsmen  have  been  looking  at 
this  town,  these  big  ships  and  piers,  and  we  have 
thought  how  iniieh  bcttei'  all  these  things  appear  com- 
paicd  to  Zanzibar,  whirh  was  (uiptured  from  the 
i'ortuguese  Ixfoie  this  town  was  built,  and  I  have  been 
wondering  whv  we  e(»nl<l  nol  lia\-e  done  as  well  as  you 
white  people.  I  begin  1(j  think  you  must  be  very 
clever. 

"  If  \'oM  ]ia\('  diseovei'e(l  so  nuieli,  Tip])U-Tib,  you  are 
on    tlie    high    road   to  discover  more.      The   white    men 


AlililVAL   AT   THE  MOUTH    OF   THE   CONGO   RIVER.      75 

require  a  deal  of  study  before  you  can  quite  make  them     i887. 
out.     It  is  a  pity  you  never    went  to   Endand    for  a  ^'""''  ^^' 
visit. 

"  I  hope  to  go  there  Ijefore  I  die." 

"  Be  faithful  to  us  on  this  long  journey,  and  I  will 
take  you  there,  and  you  will  see  more  things  than  you 
can  dream  of  now." 

"  Inshallah  !    if  it  is  the  will  of  Allah   we  shall  ffo 

together." 

^  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

On  the  18th  March  the  Madura  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  Congo  River,  and  dropped  her  anchor  a1)out  200 
yards  aljreast  of  the  sandy  point,  called  Banana. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  was  in  the  presence  of  Air.  Lafon- 
taine  Ferney,  the  chief  Agent  of  the  Dutch  Company, 
to  whom  our  steamer  was  consigned.  Through  some 
delay  he  had  not  ])een  informed  of  our  intending  to 
arrive  as  soon.  Everybody  professed  surprise,  as  they 
did  not  expect  us  before  the  25th,  but  this  fortunate 
a(;cident  was  solely  due  to  the  captain  and  the  go(jd 
steamer.  However,  I  succeeded  in  making  arrangements 
by  which  the  Dutch  Company's  steamer  K.  A.  Nieman 
— so  named  after  a  fine  young  man  of  that  name,  who 
had  lately  died  at  St.  Paul  de  Loanda — would  be  placed 
at  my  disposal,  for  the  transport  to  Mataddi  of  230 
men  next  day. 

On  returning  to  the  ship,  I  found  my  officers 
surrounding  two  English  traders,  connected  with  the 
British  Congo  Company  of  Banana.  They  were  saying 
some  unpleasant  things  about  the  condition  of  the  State 
steamers.  "  There  is  a  piece  of  the  Stanley  on  shore 
now,  which  will  give  you  an  idea  of  that  steamer.  The 
Stanley  is  a  perfect  ruin,  we  are  told.  However,  will 
you  leave  the  Pool  ?  The  State  has  not  one  steamer  in 
service.  They  are  all  drawn  up  on  the  banks  for 
repairs,  which  will  take  months.  We  don't  see  how  you 
are  to  get  away  from  here  under  six  weeks  !  Look  at 
that  big  steamer  on  the  sands  !  she  has  just  come  out 
from  Europe  ;  the  fool  of  a  captain  ran  her  on  shore 
instead  of  waiting  for  a  pilot.      She  has  got  the  sections 


70  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     of  a  steamer  in  her  hold.     The  Heron  and  Belgique,  Ijoth 
March  18.  g^^^^g  steamers,  have  first,  of  course,  to  float  that  steamer 
i5°°fr.     off-     You  are  in  for  it  nicely,  we  can  tell  you." 

Naturally,  this  news  was  very  discouraging  to  our 
officers,  and  two  of  them  hastened  to  comfort  me  with 
the  disastrous  news.  They  were  not  so  well  acquainted 
with  the  manners  of  the  "  natives  "  of  the  Lower  C-ongo 
as  I  was.  I  onlv  marvelled  why  they  had  not  Ijeen 
2^olitely  requested  to  accompany  their  new  aquaintances 
to  the  cemetery,  in  order  that  they  might  have  the 
exquisite  gratification  of  exhibiting  the  painted  head- 
boards, which  record  the  deaths  of  many  fine  young 
men,  as  promising  in  appearance  as  they. 

I  turned  to  the  Agent  of  the  British  Congo,  and 
requested  permission  to  charter  his  steamer,  the  AlJm- 
qaerque.  The  gentleman  graciously  acceded.  This 
assured  me  transport  for  140  men  and  60  tons  cargo. 
I  then  beixued  that  he  and  his  friend  would  neorotiate  for 
the  charter  of  the  large  paddle  l)oat  the  Serpn  Pinto. 
Their  good  offices  were  entirely  successful,  and  before 
evening  I  knew  that  we  should  leave  Banana  Point 
with  G80  men  and  160  tons  cargo  on  the  next  day. 
The  State  steamer  Heron  I  was  told  would  not  be  able 
to  leave  before  the  20th. 

On  the  19th  the  steamers  A'.  A.  K'h' man,  Albuquerque, 
and  Serpa  Pinto,  departed  fi'om  Banana  Point,  and 
before  niglit  liad  audiored  at  Ponta  da  Lenha.  The 
next  day  the  two  former  steamers  steamed  straight 
up  to  Matad(b.  The  Serpa  Pinto  hauled  into  the  pier 
al  ])oiiia,  to  allow  me  to  send  an  ofiicial  intimation  of 
the  lad  that  the  new  (jovernor  of  Stanley  Falls  was 
aboard,  and  to  icceive  a  hurried  visit  fnmi  two  of  the 
Exe('uti\<'  < 'oniniil  tcr  chai'gcd  witli  tlic  adniinistraticjn 
of  the  (*onL;o  Sl.ilc. 

we  h.id  bill  lime  to  exchange  a  few  words,  but  in 
that  slioii  tinii'  ihe\-  nianagetl  lo  iid'oiin  nie,  that  there 
was  a  "  f;iniiiie  in  I  he  connliN'  ;  ihal  "  the  villaii'es  alousf 
theroail  lolhe  I'dol  were  ,d),indoned  "  ;  that  "  the  *S^a//i(:^y 
was  s(M'iousi\'  daniaued  ;  tji;ii  "the  Mission  steamers 
Pence  and  lliiin/  lunl    were  in  some   unknown   pai'ts  of 


CONDITION   OF   TIIK   CONGO    RIVER   STEAMERS.       77 

the  Upper  Congo  "  ;  that  "  the  En  Evant  was  on  shore      iss?. 
without  machinery  or  boiler  ;  "  that  "  the  A.  I.  A.  was  ^'■'''■' ''  ^^• 
500  miles  above  Stanley  Pool "  ;  and  that  "  the  Roijal     jiJ^'J;." 
was  perfectly  rotten  ; "  and  had  not  been  employed  for  a 
year ;   in   fact,    that    the    whole    of    the    na^^al    stock 
promised  did  not  exist  at  all    except    in   the  imagina- 
tion of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Bureau  at  Brussels  ;  and, 
said  one,  who  seemed  to  be  the  principal  of  the  Executive 
Conmiittee,  with  deliberate  emphasis:  "The  boats  were 
only    to    assist  you    if    they  could    be    given   without 
prejudice  to  the  service  of  the  State." 

The  gruff  voice  of  the  Portuguese  captain  of  ihc 
Serpa  Pinto  ordered  the  gentlemen  on  shore,  and  we 
proceeded  on  our  way  up  the  Congo. 

^ly  thoughts  were  not  of  the  pleasantest.  With  my 
Hotilla  of  fifteen  w^liale  boats  I  might  liaA^e  been 
indej)endent ;  but  there  w^as  an  objection  to  the  Congo 
route,  and  therefore  that  jjlan  was  abandoned.  We  had 
no  sooner  adopted  the  East  Coast  route  than  the 
Sovereign  of  the  Congo  State  invited  the  Expedition  to 
pass  through  his  territory  ;  the  Germans  had  murmured, 
and  the  French  Government  protested  at  the  idea  of 
our  marching  through  East  Africa.  When  it  was  t(jo 
late  to  order  the  flotilla  of  whale  boats  from  Forrest  and 
Son  we  then  accepted  the  Congo  route,  after  stipulating 
for  transport  up  the  Lower  Congo,  for  porterage  to 
Stanley  Pool,  and  the  loan  of  the  steamers  on  the  Ujjper 
Congo  which  were  now  said  to  be  wrecked,  rotten,  or 
without  boilers  or  engines,  or  scattered  inaccessible.  In 
my  ears  rang  the  cry  in  England  :  "  Hurry  up,  or  you 
may  be  too  late  I "  and  singing  through  my  memory 
were  the  words  of  Junker  :  "  Emin  will  be  lost  unless 
immediate  aid  be  given  him  ;  "  and  Emin's  appeal  for 
help  ;  for,  if  denied,  "  we  vshall  perish." 

"  Well,  the  aspect  of  our  work  is  ominous.  It  is  not 
my  fault,  and  what  we  have  to  do  is  simple  enough. 
We  have  given  our  promise  to  strive  our  level  best. 
It  is  no  time  for  regret,  but  to  struo;o;le  and  "  steer 
right  onward."  Every  article  of  our  verbal  bond, 
having    accepted  this  responsibility,  we  nmst    perform, 


78  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  and  it  is  the  manner  of  this  performance  that  I  now 
^'^'^^  J''-  propose  to  relate. 

Rivfr!  I  shall  not  delay  the  narration  to  give  descriptions  of 
the  route  overland  to  the  Pool,  or  of  the  Upper  Congo 
and  its  banks,  as  these  have  been  sufficiently  treated  of 
in  '  Through  the  Dark  Continent,'  an'l  '  The  Congo  and 
the  Founding  of  its  Free  State ' ;  and  I  now  propose  to 
be  very  brief  with  the  incidents  of  our  journey  to 
1  ambuya,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Aruwimi. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TO    STANLEY    POOL. 

Details  of  the  jmirnoy  to  Stanley  Pool — The  Soudanese  and  the  Somalis 
— Meetinfj:  with  Mr.  H(  rbert  Ward — Camp  at  Congo  la  Lcniha — 
Kindly  entertained  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eichards — Letters  from  up 
river — Letters  to  the  Eev.  Mr.  Bentley  and  others  for  assistance — 
Arrival  at  Mwembi — Necessity  of  enforcing  discipline — March  to 
Vomho  — Incident  at  Lukungu  Station — The  Zanzibaris — Incident 
l)etween  Jephson  and  Salim  at  the  Inkissi  Eiver — A  series  of 
complaints — The  Eev.  Mr.  Bentley  and  the  steamer  Peact- — Wo 
reach  Makoko's  village — Leopoldville — Difficulties  regarding  the  use 
of  the  Mission  steamers — Monsieur  Liebrichts  sees  Mr.  Billington — 
A  isit  to  Mr.  Swinburne  at  Kinshassa — Orders  to  and  duties  of  the 
oflBcers. 

On  the  2Lst  of  March  the  Expedition  debarked  at  tlie     i«87. 

.  Marcfi  21 

laiiding-pLace  of  the  Portuguese  trading-house  of  Senor  ji^j^jjj' 
Jo(hi  Ferrier  d'Abren,  situate  at  Mataddi,  at  a  distance  of 
108  miles  frora  the  Atlantic.  As  fast  as  the  steamers 
were  discharged  of  their  passengers  and  cargo  they  cast 
off  to  return  to  the  seaport  of  Banana,  or  the  river 
port  below. 

About  noon  the  Portuguese  gunboat  Kacongo  hove  in 
sight.  She  brought  Major  Barttelot,  Mr,  Jephson,  and 
a  number  of  Soudanese  and  Zanzibaris  ;  and  soon  after 
the  state  steamer  Heron  brought  up  the  remainder  of 
the  cargo  left  on  board  the  Madura. 

We  set  up  the  tents,  stored  the  immense  quantity  of 
rice,  biscuits,  millet,  salt,  hay,  etc.,  and  bestirred  our- 
selves like  men  with  unlimited  work  before  us.  Every 
officer  distinguished  himself — the  Zanzibaris  showed  by 
their  celerity  that  they  were  glad  to  be  on  shore. 

Our  European  party  now  consisted  of  Messrs.  Barttelot, 
Stairs,  Nelson,  Jephson,  Parke,  Bonny,  who  had  voyaged 
with  me  from  Aden,  Mr.  Walker,  an  engineer,  who  had 


80  IN   DARKEST   AFRICA. 

18S7.     joined  us  at  the  Cape,  Mr.  Iiigliam,  an  ex-Guardsman, 

March  21.  ^^^^^   ^as    our    Cougo    Agent   for   collection    of  native 

carriers,  Mr.  John  Rose  Troup,  who  had  been  despatched 

to  superintend  native  porterage  to  the  Pool  from  Man- 

yanga,  and  a  European  servant. 

On  the  following  day  171  porters,  carrying  7  boxes 
biscuits  =  420  lbs.,  157  bags  of  rice  =  10,205  lbs.,  and 
beads,  departed  from  Mataddi  to  Lukungu  as  a  reserve 
store  for  the  Expedition  on  arrival.  There  were 
•  180  sacks  of  170  lbs.  each  =  30,600  lbs.  besides,  ready 
to  follow  or  precede  us  as  carriers  otfered  themselves, 
and  which  were  to  be  dropped  at  various  places 
en  route,  and  at  the  Pool.  Couriers  were  also  sent 
to  the  Pool  with  request  to  the  Commandant  to  hurry 
up  the  repairs  of  all  steamers. 

On  the  second  day  of  arrival,  Mr.  Ingham  appeared 
with  220  carriers,  engaged  at  a  sovereign  per  load  for 
conveying  goods  to  the  Pool.  Lieutenant  Stairs  practised 
with  the  Slaxim  automatic  gun,  which  fired  330  shots 
pel-  minute,  to  the  great  admiration  of  Tippu-Tib  and  his 
followers. 

On  the  25tli  the  trumpets  sounded  in  the  Soudanese 
camp  at  5.15  a.m.  By  6  o'clock  tents  were  folded,  the 
(companies  were  ranged  by  their  respective  captains,  and 
near  each  company's  stack  of  goods,  and  by  G.15  a.m.  I 
marched  out  witli  tlie  vanguard,  l)cliind  which  streamed 
the  Expedition,  according  to  their  company,  in  single 
file,  bearing  with  us  4()()  sepai'ate  "charges"  or  porter- 
loads  of  ammunition,  cloth,  beads,  wire,  canned  pro- 
visions, rice,  salt,  oil  for  ciigiiics.  l)rass  rods,  and  iron 
wire.  The  setting  out  was  a<hniiabK\  but  after  the  first 
hour  of  I  lie  maich  the  mountains  were  so  steep  and 
stony,  the  sunshine  was  so  hot.  the  loads  so  heavy,  the 
men  so  new  to  I  he  work'  alter  the  glorious  plenty  on 
board  the  Mid  lira .  :\\\A  we  ourseKcs  wei'e  in  such  an 
overfed  (Diidit  inn.  that  the  lv\|)e(lit  ion  straggled  in  the 
most,  dishejiiteninu  niannei-  to  those  not  prepared  for 
sueh  a  sight.  .\rri\ing  at  the  hrst  river,  the  Mpozo, 
the  Ailrniirr  was  ahcadv'  |ointed.  and  we  wt^'C  ferried 
ovei'  to  the  other  liank   b\-  fifties,  ami  eani[)ed. 


THE   SOdDANh'S/'J   AND    TIIK   l^OMALIS. 


83 


The  Soudanese  were  a  wretched  siglit.      Tlie  Soiiinlis      ^^^^ 
were    tolerable,    though    they    had    gruml)led    greatly  ^'="'i'  '^^ 
])e('.ause    there  were    no    camels.      The    former    showed     ^'j"'="' 
I'emarkably    bad    temper.      Covered   with   their   Jiooded 
great-coats,   they  had   endured    a    terrible    atmosphere, 
and  the  effects  of  heat,  fatigue,  and  little  worries  were 
very  prominent. 

The  next  day  we  camped  in  the  grounds  of  Palaballa, 
belonging  to  the  Livingstone  Inland  Mission,  and  were 


MAXIM    AUTOMATIC    GUN. 


most  hospital)ly  treated  by  Mr.  Clarke,  the  superin- 
tendent, and  ladies.  As  our  men  were  so  new  to  their 
work,  we  halted  the  next  day.  By  the  officers'  returns 
I  found  that  nine  had  died  since  leaving  Zanzibar,  and 
seventeen  were  so  ill  that  we  were  compelled  to  leave 
them  at  Palaballa  to  recuperate. 

We  resumed  the  march  on  the  28th,  and  reached 
Maza  IMankengi.  On  the  road  Mr.  Herbert  Ward  was 
met,  and  volunteered  as  a  member  of  the  Expedition. 


84  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     He  was    engaged,   and  sent  to  Mataddi  to  assist   Mr. 

March  28.  ingliam  with  the  native  transport.     Mr.  Ward  had  been 

Maukenci.  of  late  jears  in  the  service  of  the  Congo    State,  and 

previously  had  wandered  in  New  Zealand  and  Borneo, 

and  was  always  regarded  by  me  as  a  young  man  of  great 

promise. 

We  were  in  camp  by  noon  of  the  29th  at  Congo  la 
Lemba,  on  the  site  of  a  place  I  knew  some  years  ago  as 
a  flourishino-  villaoe.  The  chief  of  it  was  then  in  his 
glory,  an  undisputed  master  of  the  district.  Prosperity, 
however,  spoiled  him,  and  he  began  to  exact  tolls  from 
the  State  caravans.  The  route  being  blocked  by  his 
insolence,  the  State  sent  a  force  of  Bangalas,  who  cap- 
tured and  l)elieaded  him.  The  village  was  burnt,  and 
the  people  fled  elsewhere.  The  village  site  is  now 
covered  with  tall  grass,  and  its  guava,  palm,  and  lemon- 
trees  are  choked  with  reeds. 

There  was  a  slight  improvement  in  the  order  of  the 
march,  but  the  beginning  of  an  Expedition  is  always  a 
trying  time.  The  Zanzibaris  carry  65  lbs.  of  ammuni- 
tion, 9  11  »s.  per  rifle,  four  days'  rations  of  rice,  and  their 
own  kit,  which  may  l»c  from  4  to  JO  11  )s.  weight  of  cloth 
and  l»edding  mats.  After  they  have  become  acclimated 
tliis  weiglit  a])pears  light  to  them;  but  during  the  first 
niDiith  we  have  to  be  very  careful  not  to  make  long 
marches,  and  to  exercise  much  forliearance. 

A  heavy  rain  detained  us  the  early  part  of  next  day, 
Init  soon  after  nine  we  moved  on  and  reached  the  Lufu 
Itiver.  It  was  a  terril)ly  fatiguing  march.  Until  mid- 
night the  peo])le  came  streaming  in,  tired,  footsore,  and 
sour.  Tlic  otliccis  slcj)t  in  lu}-  tent,  and  supped  on 
})iscuits  <-iiid  lice. 

Near  the  Mazaniba  \\ Ood  we  passed  Baron  von 
Itotlikiich  supervising  a  party  of  Kabindas,  who 
w(;re  hauling  the  .Fl()ri<l<t\s  shaft.  At  the  rate  of 
progress  they  would  ]ti()bably  i-each  the  Pool  about 
August  next ;  and  ;il  the  I'x'nibezi  Ford  a  French  trader 
was  met  descending  with  a  line  lot  of  ivoiy  tusks. 

We  [)ass('d  the  Mnngohi  IfiNci-  on  the  -'51st,  when  I 
was  myself  disiiblrd  hy  ;i  lit  of  sickness  IVoin  indulging 


PI?  0  a  TIERS    UP   THE   CONGO   PIVER.  85 

in  the  guavas  of  Congo  la  Lemba,  and  on  the  Ist  April      i887. 
we  travelled  to  Banza  Manteka.     At  the  L.  I.  Mission    ^'"'''  ^• 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richards  most  kindly  entertained  us.     At   jijii'teka. 
this  place   a  few  years'  niissicjn  work   has  produced  a 
great  change.      Nearly  all   the   native    population  had 
become     professed    Christians,     and    attended    Divine 
service  punctually  with   all  the    fervour  of  revivalists. 
Young  men  whom  I  had  known  as  famous   ein-drinkers 
had   become  sober,  decent  men,  and  most  mannerly  in 
Ijchaviour. 

I  received  three  letters  from  up  river,  one  from 
Troup  at  Manyanga,  Swinburne  at  Kinshassa,  and  Glave 
at  Equator  Station,  all  giving  a  distressing  account  of 
the  steamers  Stanley,  Peace,  Henry  Reed,  and  En 
Avant.  The  first  is  damaged  throughout  according  to 
my  informants,  the  Mission  steamers  require  thorough 
overhauling,  the  En  Avant  has  been  reduced  to  a 
barge.  Mr.  Troup  suggests  that  we  carry  a  lighter  or 
two  from  JManyanga  to  the  Pool,  a  thing  utterly  impos- 
sible. We  were  already  overloaded  because  of  the 
rice  we  carried  to  feed  nearly  800  people  through 
the  starving  country.  In  order  to  lighten  our  work 
slightly  Messrs.  Jephson  and  Walker  were  despatched 
with  our  steel  boat,  the  Advance,  by  the  Congo  to 
Manyanga. 

We  passed  by  the  Lunionzo  River  on  the  3rd,  and 
the  next  day  camped  on  the  site  of  the  abandoned 
village  of  Kilolo,  During  the  march  I  passed  a 
Soudanese  trying  to  strangle  a  Zanzibari  because  the 
wearied  man  had  slightly  touched  his  shoulder  with  his 
box.  The  spleen  the  Soudanese  show  is  extremely  ex- 
asperating, but  we  must  exercise  patience  yet  awhile. 

A  march  of  three  hours  brought  us  to  the  Kwilu 
River,  with  the  usual  ups  and  downs  of  hills,  which  tire 
the  caravan.  At  the  river,  w^hich  is  100  yards  wdde  and 
of  strong  current,  w^as  a  canoe  without  an  owner.  We 
took  possession  of  it,  and  began  to  cross  the  Advance 
Company  by  tens. 

The  opportunity  afforded  by  the  ferriage  was  seized 
by  me  to  write  appealing  letters  to  the  Commandant  at 


S6  IN  DAliKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  Stanley  Pool  to  interpret  the  orders  of  the  Minister  of 
Aiirii  3.  ^1^^  Interior,  Strauch,  according  to  the  generous  spirit 
Rive"  expressed  by  King  Leopold  when  he  invited  us  to  seek 
Emin  Pasha  via.  the  C-ongo.  Another  was  directed  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Bentley,  of  the  Baptist  Mission,  recpiesting 
him  to  remember  the  assistance  I  gave  the  Baptists  in 
1880-84,  and  to  be  prepared  to  lend  the  steamer  Peace 
that  I  might  hurry  the  Expedition  away  from  the 
poverty-stricken  region  around  Stanley  Pool.  Another 
was  despatched  to  Mr.  Billington,  superintendent  of  the 
Henry  Reed,  in  similar  terms,  reminding  him  that  it 
was  I  who  had  given  them  ground  at  Stanley  Pool. 
Another  to  the  Commandant  of  Lukungu  Station,  request- 
ing; liim  to  collect  400  carriers  to  liohten  the  labours  of 
my  men. 

On  reaching  Mweml)i  the  6th  April,  I  was  particularly 
struck  with  the  increase  of  demoralization  in  the 
caravan.  So  far,  in  order  not  to  press  the  people,  I 
had  been  very  quiet,  entrusting  tlie  lal)our  of  bringing 
.  the  stragglers  to  the  younger  men,  that  they  might 
become  experienced  in  the  troubles  which  beset  Expedi- 
ticms  in  Africa  ;  but  the  necessity  of  enforcing  discipline 
was  ])arti(iilar]y  demonstrated  on  this  march.  The 
Zanzibaris  had  no  sooner  pitched  tlie  tents  of  their 
respective  officers  tliaii  they  rushed  like  madmen  among 
the  neigliboiiriiig  \illages,  and  (ommenced  to  loot  native 
property,  in  doing  wliidi  onc^  named  Khamis  bin 
Athiiiaii  was  sliol  dead  b\'  a  phick\^  native.  This  fatal 
incident  is  one  of  these  signal  pioofs  that  discipline  is 
})etter  llian  constant  forlx'arancc,  and  liow  soon  even  an 
army  ol  liccnlions,  insnboidinatc,  and  lefVactory  men 
wonld  be  dcsl  i'(»\('(|. 

Jt  had  [)robabl\-  been  I)('li('\-(M1  ])\  flic  mass  of  the 
people  tli.il  I  \\;is  lallicr  too  old  to  supei'vise  tlie  niarcli, 
as  in  loiniei'  limes  ;  but  on  the  march  to  \()inl)o,  on  the 
71  h,  (;vei}<»ne  was  nii<le<'ei\-e(|,  ;iii(l  the  last  of  the 
lengthy  cai'avan  was  in  camp  1»\  I  I  a.m. .and  each  officer 
enjoyed  hi-  liinch  ,it  noon,  wiih  his  mind  at  ease  foi' 
<lnfy  done  .mkI  a  da\''s  jonrnc\'  well  made.  '^Fliere  is 
nothing    more    agreeable    than    the  h'eling  oni;  possessed 


INCH  EASE  OF  DEMORALIZATION  IN  THE  ('AltAVAN.      87 

after    a  good   journey  ])riefiy   acconiplishcd.      We    arc     1887. 
assured  of  a  sood  day's  rest ;  the  remainder  of  the  day  is    ^i"''  '^^ 

1.  ,1  1  111  •!  Voiiibo. 

our  own  to  read,  to  eat,  to  sleep,  anti  t)e  luxuriously 
inactive,  and  to  think  calmly  of  the  morrow  ;  and  there 
(;an  scarcely  l)c  anything  more  disagreeal)le  than  to  kiKJW 
that,  though  the  journey  is  but  a  short  one,  yet  relaxa- 
tion of  severity  permits  that  cruel  dawdling  on  the  road 
in  the  suffocating  high  grass,  or  scorched  by  a  blistering 
sun — the  long  line  of  carriers  is  crumj^led  up  into  2)er- 
spiring  fragments — w^ater  far  when  most  needed  ;  not  a 
shady  tree  near  the  road  ;  the  loads  roljbed  and  scattered 
about  over  ten  miles  of  road ;  the  carriers  skulking 
among  the  reeds,  or  cooling  themselves  in  groves  at  a 
distance  from  the  road  ;  the  officers  in  despair  at  the  day's 
near  close,  and  hungry  and  vexed,  and  a  near  prospect  of 
some  such  troubles  to  recur  again  to-morrow  and  the 
day  after.  An  unreflecting  spectator  hovering  near  our 
line  of  march  might  think  we  were  unnecessarily  cruel ; 
l)ut  the  application  of  a  few  cuts  to  the  confirmed 
stragglers  secure  eighteen  hours'  rest  to  about  800 
people  and  their  officers,  save  the  goods  from  being- 
robbed — for  frequently  these  dawdlers  lag  behind  pur- 
posely for  such  intentions — and  the  day  ends  happily 
for  all,  and  the  morrow's  journey  has  no  horrors  for  us. 

On  the  8th  the  Expedition  was  welcomed  at  Lukungu 
Station  bv  Messrs.  Francqui  and  Dessauer.  These  hos- 
pitable Belgians  had  of  their  ow^n  impulse  gathered  four 
days'  rations  for  our  800  people,  of  potatoes,  bananas, 
brinjalls,  Indian  corn,  and  palm  nuts. 

No  sooner  had  we  all  assembled  than  the  Soudanese 
gathered  in  a  body  to  demand  more  food.  In  fifteen 
days  they  had  consumed  each  one  40  lbs.  of  biscuit  and 
rice  ;  and  they  announced  their  intention  of  returning  to 
the  Lower  Congo  if  more  rations  were  not  served  out. 
The  four  days'  rations  of  vegetables  they  disdained  to 
touch.  I  had  resolved  to  l^e  very  patient ;  and  it  was 
too  early  yet  to  manifest  even  the  desire  to  be  other- 
wise. Extra  rations  of  rice  and  l)iscuits  were  accord- 
ingly served  out. 

Fortunately  for  me  personally  tlu^re  were  good  officers 


88  TN  darkest  AFRICA. 

1887.  with  me  who  eoukl  relieve  me  of  the  necessity  of  coming 
^^^'^^^-  into  conflict  with  wilful  fellows  like  these  sulky, 
"  "'^"'  obstinate  Soudanese.  I  reserved  for  myself  the  role  of 
mediator  between  exasperated  whites  and  headstrong, 
undisciplined  l)lacks.  Provided  one  is  not  himself 
worn  out  l)y  1)eing  compelled  througliout  the  day  to 
shout  at  thick-headed  men,  it  is  a  most  agreeable 
work  to  extenuate  offences  and  soothe  anger.  Probal)ly 
the  angry  will  turn  away  muttering  that  we  are  partial ; 
the  other  party  perhaps  thirsts  for  more  sympathy  on 
its  side  ;  but  the  mediator  must  be  prepared  to  receive  a 
rulj  or  two  himself. 

Thinking  that  there  would  be  less  chance  of  the 
Soudanese  storming  so  furiously  against  the  Zanzil)aris 
on  the  road,  I  requested  Major  Barttelot  to  keep  his 
Soudanese  a  day's  march  ahead  of  the  Zanzibaris. 

It  will  not  be  surprising  that  we  all  felt  more 
sympathy  for  the  loaded  Zanzibaris.  These  formed  our 
scouting  parties,  and  foragers,  and  food  purveyors  ;  they 
pitched  our  tents,  they  collected  fuel,  they  carried  the 
stores  ;  the  main  strength  of  the  Expedition  consisted  of 
them ;  without  them  the  Europeans  and  Soudanese,  if 
they  had  l^een  ten  times  the  numl)er,  would  have  been 
of  no  use  at  all  for  the  succour  of  Emin.  The  Soudanese 
carried  notliing  but  their  rifles,  their  clothing,  and  their 
I'ations.  By  the  time  they  would  be  of  actual  utility  we 
sliould  Ije  a  year  older  ;  the}^  might  perhaps  fail  us  when 
the  liour  of  need  came,  but  we  hoped  not;  in  the  mean- 
time, all  tliatwas  necessary  was  to  keep  them  moving  on 
witli  as  little  trou])le  as  possible  to  themselves,  the 
Zaiizibaiis.  and  us.  The  Major,  however,  without  doubt 
was  sorely  tempte<l.  If  lie  was  compelled  to  strike 
during  these  days,  1  uiust  ;idniit  that  the.  Soudanese 
were  uncommonly  pioNokiiiu.  Job  woidd  have  waxed 
wi-atlifiil,  ;iim1  liccomc  |)ri)r;iii('. 

'I'lic  lir;it  was  tci-rililc  tlic  da\'  we  left  Lukungu — 
the  lotli.  Tlic  iiicii  (li(i|)|)('(l  (low  II  oil  all  sides; 
chiefs  ;iiid  iiH'ii  ,-iiiciiiiil)ci|.  We  o\citook  the  Soudanese 
again,  and  I  he  ii>ii;il  >iiilllii|o  and  [)roranity  occurred  as 
an  urdiappy  result. 


Lukungu. 


EXPERIENCES   OF  THE  MAliCH.  89 

On  Easter  Monday,  the  Utli,  tlie  Soudanese  Company  iss?. 
was  stricken  down  with  fever,  and  himentation  was  /''7''  ^^' 
general,  and  all  l)ut  two  of  the  Somalis  were  prostrated. 
Barttelot  was  in  a  furious  rage  at  his  unhappy  Company, 
and  expressed  a  wish  that  he  had  been  doing  Jephson's 
duty  with  the  boat.  I  received  a  letter  from  Jeplison 
in  the  evening,  wherein  he  wrote  that  he  wished  to  l)e 
witli  us,  or  anywhere  rather  than  on  the  treacherous  and 
turbulent  Congo. 

The  following  day  saw  a  foundering  caravan  as  we 
struggled  most  w^'etchedly  into  camp.  The  Soudanese 
were  miles  from  each  other,  the  Somalis  were  all  ill ; 
one  of  those  in  the  boat  with  Mr.  Jephson  had  died. 
Liebig,  and  meat  soups,  had  to  be  prepared  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  serve  out  cupfuls  to  each  weakened  man 
as  he  stagorered  in. 

Lutete's  was  reached  the  next  day,  and  the  ex- 
periences of  the  march  were  similar.  We  suffer  losses 
on  every  march — losses  of  men  by  desertion,  by  illness, 
of  lifles,  boxes  of  canned  provisions,  and  of  fixe<l  am- 
munition. 

At  Nselo,  on  the  Inkissi  River,  we  encountered 
Jephson,  who  has  seen  some  novelties  of  life  during 
his  voyage  up  the  Congo  rapids  to  Manyanga. 

The  sun  has  commenced  to  paint  our  faces  a  vermilion 
tint,  for  I  see  in  each  officer's  face  tw^o  inflamed  circles 
glowing  red  and  bright  under  each  eye,  and  I  fancy 
the  eyes  flash  wdth  greater  brilliancy.  Some  of  them 
have  thought  it  ^vould  be  more  picturesque,  more  of  the 
ideal  explorer  type,  to  have  their  arms  painted  also,  and 
have  bared  their  milk-white  arms  until  they  seem 
bathed  in  flanie^i 

The  16th  April  we  employed  in  ferrying  the  Expe- 
dition across  the  Inkissi  River,  and  by  5.30  p.m.  every 
soul  was  across,  besides  our  twenty  donkeys  and  herd  of 
Cape  goats. 

During  the  ferriage  some  hot  words  were  exchanged 
between  Salim,  son  of  Massoud,  a  brother-in-law  of 
Tippu-Tib,  and  Mr.  Mounteney  Jephson,  who  is  the 
master    of    the    boat.      Salim,  since  he  has    married    a 


90  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  sister  of  Tippu-Til),  aspires  to  he  beyond  censure ; 
Apni  16.  j^j^  conceit  has  made  him  al»ominably  insolent.  At 
Mataddi's  he  chose  to  impress  his  views  most  arro- 
gantly on  Lieutenant  Stairs  ;  and  now  it  is  with  Mr. 
Jephson,  who  briefly  told  him  tliat  if  he  did  not  mind 
his  own  business  he  would  have  to  toss  him  into  the 
river.  Salim  savagely  resented  this,  until  Tippu-Tib 
appeared  to  ease  his  choler. 

At  the  next  camp  I  received  some  more  letters  from 
Stanley  Pool.  Lieutenant  Liebrichts,  the  commissaire  of 
the  Stanley  Pool  district,  wrote  that  the  steamer  Stanley 
would  be  at  my  disposition,  and  also  a  lighter !  The 
Ell  Avant  would  not  be  ready  for  six  weeks.  Another 
was  from  ]\L\  Billington,  who  declined  most  positively 
to  lend  the  Henri)  Reed. 

One  of  my  most  serious  duties  after  a  march  was  to 
listen  to  all  sorts  of  complaints — a  series  of  them  were 
made  on  this  day.  A  native  robbed  by  a  hungry 
Zanzibari  of  a  cassava  loaf  recjuired  restitution  ;  Binza, 
the  goat-herd,  imagined  himself  slighted  because  he  was 
not  allowed  to  participate  in  the  delicacy  of  goat  tripe, 
and  solicited  my  favour  to  ol)tain  for  him  this  privilege  ; 
a  Zanzibaii  weakHng,  starving  amidst  a  well-rationed 
camp  and  rice-fed  people,  l)egged  me  to  regard  his 
puckered  stomach,  and  do  him  tlie  justice  to  see  that  he 
received  his  fair  rations  fioni  his  <jreedv  chief.  Salim, 
Tippu-Tib's  hcnclimaii,  complained  that  mv  oflicers  did 
not  admiie  him  cxcessivelv.  Tie  said,  "  Tliey  should 
remember  he  no  (,Miceii  man  now  he  Tippu-Tib's  brudder- 
in-law"  (Salim  was  foi-merlv  an  inter})i'eter  on  board  a 
lirilish  ci'iiisci').  And  there  wei'c  charges  of  thefts  of  a 
whinsfonc,  n  knife.  ;i  razor,  against  certain  incori'igil)le 
puiloincis. 

At  <»nr  next  c;ini|»  on  I  he  Nkalania  lliver,  \\'hi<'h  we 
readied  (.n  I  he  isth  Apiik  I  received  a  letter  by  a 
coui'ier  IVoni  IJc\.  Mr.  rx'nth'v,  who  inlbi-med  me  that 
no  |)i'ohil)il  ion  h.id  Imcm  received  l)y  jiim  fi'oni  England 
of  the  lo;in  •'!  (he  ll.iptisl  mission  steamer  Peace,  'iix\A 
lh;i(  provided  I  assnicd  him  that  tlie  Zaii/il)ai'is  did 
nothing  conliary  to  missionary  charac.t.er,  which  he  as  a 


LKTTEHH   FROM   STANLEY   J'OOL.  91 

missionary  was  desirous  of  maintaining,  that  he  would     1887. 
be  most  happy  to  surrender  the  Peace  for  tlie  service  of  '^'"■''  ^^" 
the    "  Emin   Paslia  Relief   Expedition."      Though  very     i^.^^^ 
grateful,  and  fully  impressed  with  his  generosity,  in  this 
unnecessary  allusion  to  the  Zanzibaris,  and  to  this  covert 
intimation  that  we  are  responsible  for  their  ex(;esses,  Mr. 
Bentley  has  proved  that  it  must  have  cost  him  a  struggle 
to  irrant  the    loan   of   the    Peace.     He   ouo-ht  to  have 
remembered  that  the  privilege  he  obtained  of  l)uilding 
his    stations  at  Leopoldville,    Kinshassa,   and   Lukolela 
was  gained  by  the  labours  of  the  good-natured  Zanzi- 
baris,  who  though  sometimes  tempted  to  take  freedoms, 
were    generally    well    behaved,    so    much    so    that    the 
natives  preferred  them  to  the  Houssas,  Kabindas,  Kru- 
boys,  or  Bangalas. 

On  the  19 til  we  were  only  able  to  make  a  short  march, 
as  each  day  witnessed  a  severe  downpour  of  rain,  and 
the  Luila  near  which  we  camped  had  become  dangerously 
turbulent. 

On  the  20th  we  reached  Makoko's  village.  The 
Zanzibaris  were  observed  to  be  weakening  rapidly.  They 
have  been  compelled  to  live  on  stinted  rations  lately, 
and  their  habit  of  indulging  in  raw  manioc  is  very 
injurious.  A  pound  of  rice  per  day  is  not  a  large  ration 
for  working  men,  but  if  they  had  contrived  to  be  con- 
tented on  this  scanty  but  wholesome  fare  for  a  wliile 
they  would  not  be  in  a  robust  condition,  it  is  true,  l)ut 
there  certainly  would  be  less  illness.  During  this  march 
from  the  Lower  Congo  we  had  consumed  up  to  date 
27,500  lbs.  of  rice — about  13  tons — so  that  the  resources 
of  the  entire  region  had  been  severely  taxed  to  obtain 
this  extra  carriage.  The  natives  having  fled  from  the 
public  paths,  and  our  fear  that  the  Zanzibaris,  if  per- 
mitted to  forage  far  from  the  camp,  would  commit 
depredations,  have  been  the  main  cause  of  their  plucking 
up  the  poisonous  manioc  tubers,  and  making  themselves 
wretchedly  sick.  There  were  about  a  hundred  men  on 
this  date  useless  as  soldiers  or  carriers. 

Arriving  at  Leopoldville  on  the  21st  to  the  great 
delight  of  all,  one  of  my  first  discoveries  was  the  fact 


92  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     tliat  the  Stanley,  a  small   lighter,   our   steel  boat  the 

April  21.  ^4  jy(2?zcg,  and  the  mission  steamer  Peace  were  the  only 

TiiTe.     boats  availalile  for  the  transport  of  the  Expedition  up 

the  Congo.     I  introduce  the  following  notes  from  my 

diary  : — 

Leopoldville,  April  22nd. — We  are  now  345  miles 
from  the  sea  in  view  of  Stanley  Pool,  and  before  us  free 
from  rapids  are  al^out  1100  miles  of  river  to  Yambuya 
on  the  Aruwimi  whence  I  propose  resuming  the  land 
journey  to  Lake  Albert. 

Messrs.  Bentley  and  Whitley  called  on  me  to-day. 
We  spoke  concerning  the  Peace.  They  said  the  vessel 
required  many  repairs.  I  insisted  that  the  case  was 
urgent.  They  finally  decided  after  long  consultation 
that  the  repairs  could  be  finished  by  the  30th. 

In  the  afternoon  I  took  Major  Barttelot  and  Mr. 
Mounteney  Jephson  into  my  confidence,  and  related  to 
them  the  difficulties  that  we  were  in,  explained  my 
claims  on  the  consideration  of  the  missionaries  and  the 
urgent  necessity  of  an  early  departure  from  the  foodless 
district,  that  provisions  were  so  scarce  that  the  State 
were  able  to  procure  oiily  GO  full  rations  for  146  people, 
and  that  to  supply  the  others  the  State  officers  had 
recourse  to  hunting  the  hippopotami  in  the  Pool,  and 
that  we  sh(juld  have  to  pursue  the  same  course  to  eke 
out  the  rice.  And  if  GO  rations  can  only  be  procured  for 
146  people  by  the  State  authorities,  how  were  we  to 
snpplv  750  people  ?  T  then  directed  them  to  proceed 
to  Ml-.  Billin^toii  Mild  Dr.  Sims,  and  address  themselves 
1(»  the  formci-  |)iiiiiij)ally — inasmuch  as  Dr.  Sims  was  an 
luisucccssful  applicant  for  a  position  on  this  Expedition 
—  and  explain  mattci's  fairly  to  jiini. 

They  were  al)sent  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  and 
ictuiiKMl  (o  nic  crcstrallen, — ibey  had  failed.  Poor 
Major  !      Toor  .Icplisoii  ! 

Monsieur  Llcinichts,  \\Im»  had  formerly  served  with 
me  on  the  ( 'oiil;o  .-it  l>ololio,  was  now  tlie  Covernor  of 
tlie  Stanley  Pool  district.  He  dined  with  me  this 
e\ ciiiii'^  and  lic;iiil  I  he  story  as  I'elated  by  Major  Barttelot 
and  Mr.   .Moiinleiicx'  Jephson.      Nothing   was  kept    back 


DIFFICULTIES  liEaAliDlNG   MISSION  STEAMERS.       93 

from  him.     He  knew  much  of  it  j)reviously.     He  agreed     iss?. 
heartily  with  our  views  oi  things  and  acknowledged  that   '^'"''  ^^' 
there  was  great  urgency.    Jephson  said,  "I  vote  we  seize    '7me. ' 
the  Henry  Reed.' 

"  No,  my  friend  Jephson.  AVe  must  not  l)e  rash. 
We  must  give  Mr.  Billington  time  to  consider,  who 
would  assuredly  understand  how  much  his  mission  was 
indebted  to  me,  and  would  see  no  difficulty  in  chartering 
his  steamer  at  double  the  price  the  Congo  State  paid  to 
him.  Those  who  subsist  on  the  charity  of  others 
naturally  know  how  to  be  charitable.  We  will  try  again 
to-morrow,  when  I  shall  make  a  more  formal  requisition 
and  offer  liberal  terms,  and  then  if  she  is  not  conceded 
we  must  think  what  had  best  be  done  under  the  cir- 
cumstances." 

April  2Srd. — Various  important  matters  were  at- 
tended to  this  morning.  The  natives  from  all  parts  in 
this  neighbourhood  came  to  revive  acquaintance,  and  it 
was  ten  o'clock  before  I  was  at  liberty. 

Ngalyema  was  somewhat  tedious  with  a  long  story 
about  grievances  that  he  had  borne  patiently,  and 
insults  endured  without  plaint.  He  described  the 
change  that  had  come  over  the  white  men,  that  of 
late  they  had  become  more  imperious  in  their  manner, 
and  he  and  other  chiefs  suspecting  that  the  change 
boded  no  good  to  them  had  timidly  absented  them- 
selves from  the  stations,  the  markets  had  been 
abandoned,  and  consequently  food  had  become  scarce 
and  very  dear. 

Having  given  my  sympathy  to  my  old  friends  I  called 
Barttelot  and  Jephson  and  read  to  them  a  statement  of 
former  kindnesses  shown  to  the  '  Livingstone  Inland 
Mission.'  "  When  you  have  spoken,  recj^uest  in  the  name 
of  charity  and  humanity,  ancl  all  good  feeling,  that  Mr. 
Billington  allow  me  to  offer  liberal  terms  for  the  charter 
of  the  Henry  Reed  for  a  period  of  sixty  days. 

Barttelot  was  inspired  to  believe  that  his  eloquence 
wcndd  prevail,  and  asked  permission  to  try  in  his  way 
once  more. 

"  Very  good,  Major,  go,  and  success  attend  you." 


94  7.¥  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  "  I'm  sure  I  shall  succeed  like  a  shot,"  said  the  Major 

^P*''  -'•^-  confidently. 

^\\\\q.  The  Major  proceeded  to  the  Mission  House,  and  Mr. 
Jephson  accompanied  him  as  a  witness  of  the  proceedings. 
Presently  I  received  a  characteristic  note  from  the  Major, 
who  wrote  that  he  had  argued  ineffectually  with  the 
missionaries,  principally  with  Mr.  Billington,  but  in  the 
presence  of  Dr.  Sims,  who  sat  in  a  chair  contenting 
himself  with  uttering  remarks  occasionally. 

Lieutenant  Liebrichts  was  informed  of  the  event, 
and  presented  himself,  saying  that  this  affair  w\as  the 
duty  of  the  State. 

Monsieur  Liebrichts,  who  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  officers  in  the  Congo  State,  and  who 
has  well  maintained  the  high  character  described  in  a 
former  book  of  mine,  devoted  himself  with  ardour  to 
the  task  of  impressing  Mr.  Billington  with  the  irration- 
ality of  his  position,  and  of  his  obstinacy  in  declining 
to  assist  us  out  of  our  difficulties  in  which  we  had  been 
phiced  l)y  the  fault  of  circumstances.  To  and  fro 
througliout  tlio  day  lie  went  demanding,  explaining, 
and  expostulating,  and  finally  after  twelve  hours  pre- 
vailed on  ]\ir.  i)illington  to  accept  a  charter  upon  the 
liberal  terms  offered  ;  namely,  £100  per  month. 

April  24:th. — Mustered  Expedition  and  discovered  we 
are  short  of  57  men,  and  38  Remingtim  rifles.  The 
actual  iiiiiiincr  iiow  is  7-17  men  and  496  rifles.  Of  bill- 
hooks, axes,  shovels,  canteens,  spears,  &('.,  we  have  lost 
over  50  per  cent. — all  in  a  twenty-eight  days'  march. 

Borne  of  t lie  men,  pciliaps,  will  return  to  their  duties, 
bu(  if  such  a  large  number  desei'ts  -K)00  miles  from 
thcii-  iialivc.  land,  what  miglit  ha\e  been  expected  had 
we  taken  the  East  ( *oast  roiilc  The  Zanzibar  head-men 
tell  me  with  a  cynical  bitterness  that  the  Expedition 
would  have  been  dissoKcd.  They  say,  "  These  people 
fioni  the  cIonc  and  cinnamon  plantations  of  Zanzibar 
ai'c  n<»  better  than  animals  they  have  no  sense  of 
feelinL;.  The\'  detest  woik,  they  don't  know  what  silver 
is,  and  they  lia\'e  no  parents  or  homes.  'jdie  men  who 
have  homes    never  desert,  il"  they  did  they  would   be  so 


LIEUT.  LII<:i:i!I('IITS  AND  MH.   !U LI.INdTON.  95 

IcUiglicd    Jit   by   tlieir  neiolil)ours   thut    tlicy   could    not      imi. 
live."     There  is  a  great  deal  of  trutli  in  tlicse  remarks,   ^'M-^ 
Imt  in  this  Expedition  are  scores  of  confirmed  bounty-    '*v/iTe.'° 
jumpers  who  are   only  awaiting  opportunities.      In  in- 
specting the  men  to-day  I  was  of  the  opinion  that  only 
altout   150  were  free  men,  and  that  all  the  remainder 
were  either  slaves  or  convicts. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Jameson  has  kindly  volunteered  to  proceed 
to  shoot  hippopotami  to  obtain  meat.  We  are  giving 
1  11).  of  rice  to  eac^li  man — just  half  rations.  For  the 
officers  and  our  Arab  guests  I  have  a  flock  of  goats, 
about  thirty  in  num])er.  The  fond  presents  from  the 
various  cliiefs  around  Iuiac  amounted  to  500  men's 
rations  and  have  been  very  acceptable. 

Capt.  Nelson  is  busy  with  the  axemen  preparing  fuel 
for  the  steamers.  The  Sfanlcij  must  depart  to-morrow 
with  Major  Barttelot  and  Surgeon  Parke's  companies, 
and  debark  them  at  a  place  above  the  Wampoko,  when 
they  will  then  marcli  to  Mswata.  I  nuist  avail  myself 
of  ever}'  means  of  leaving  Stanley  Pool  before  we  shall 
be  so  pinched  by  hunger  that  the  men  will  become  un- 
controllable. , 

April  25t/i. — The  steamer  StanUy,  steamed  up  river 
with  15.*^  men  under  Major  Barttelot  and  Surgeon 
Parke. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  Kinshassa  to  see  my  ancient  secretary, 
Mr.  Swinburne,  who  is  now^  manager  of  an  Ivory  Trading 
C^)mpan\%  called  the  "  Sanfoi'd  Exploring  Company." 
The  hull  of  his  steamer,  Florida,  being  completed,  he 
suggested  that  if  we  assisted  him  to  launch  her  he 
would  be  pleased  to  lend  her  to  the  Expedition,  since  she 
was  of  no  use  to  anybody  until  her  machinery  and  shaft 
came  up  with  Baron  von  Rothkirch,  who  proliably  would 
not  arrive  l)efore  the  end  of  July.  I  was  only  too  glad, 
and  a  number  of  men  were  at  once  ordered  up  to  begin 
the  operations  of  extending  the  slip  to  the  river's  edge. 

Our  engineer,  Mr.  John  Walker,  was  detailed  for 
service  on  the  Henry  Heed,  to  clean  her  up  and  prepare 
her  for  the  Upper  Congo. 

One  Soudanese  and  one  Zanzibari  died  to-day. 


Dfi 


IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 


Kinshassa. 


1887,  Ajwil  27th. — Thirteen   Zanzibaris  and  one  Soudanese, 

^,Aprii27  ^^£  those  left  behind  from  illness,  at  stations  on  the 
way  have  arrived.  They  report  having  sold  their  rifles 
and  sapper's  tools  ! 

April  28th. — Struck  camp  and  marched  Expedition 
overland  to  Kinshassa  that  I  might  personally  super- 
intend launching  of  hull  of  steamer,  Florida,  which  we 
hope  to  do  the  day  after  to-morrow,  when  the  ship  is 
finished.      We  are  being  hospitably  entertained  mean- 


LAUNOHING    THE   STEAMEU   "  FLOUIDA." 


wliilc  by  Mr.  Ant()in(!  (ircslioll".  of  ihc  Dutch  Company, 
;iiid  Mr.  S\viii])iii'iie  of  tlic  Sniilni'd  ( ■oinpany. 

J/'/// '_".)///.  Ill  camp  at  Kiiisliassa  under  the  baobabs. 
Tlic  .>tc;iiiicrs  Shiiili'ii  and  Henry  llccd,  towiiig-barge 
Kn  Avaiii  ani\<(|. 

April  'M)th.  The  lull  I  (>r  I  lie  Florida  was  launched 
I  his  iiioiiiiii^-.  Two  liiiii(li'('(|  iiM'ii  [Mibed  her  steadily 
()\cr  the  cxtciHlcd  sli|)  inio  ihc  riNcr.  She  was  then 
t;ik»'ii  to  the,  laiidiiinpliicc  of  (lie  l)iit(li  (/ompanyand 
fasUMUul  to  tlic  stcMiiicr  Shiidrij. 


ORDERS  ISSUED    TO    THE    OFFICERS.  07 

Each  officer  was  furnished  with  the  plan  of  embarka-     i887. 
tion,  and  directed  to  begin  work  of  loading  the  steamers  .•''^'"''  '^^^ 
according  to  programme. 

The  following  orders  were  also  issued  : — 

The  OflScers  commanding  companies  in  this  Expedition  are— 

Company 


E.  M.  Barttelot 

Major  .         .         -  No.  1,  Soudanese. 

W.  G.  Stairs  . 

Captain         .          .     ,,    2,  Zanzibaris. 

E.  H.  Nelson  . 

•         .     „    3          „ 

A.  J.  Monnteney  Jcphson 

.         .     »    4 

J  S.  Jameson 

>j               .         .     „    5          „ 

John  Rose  Troup    . 

„              .         .     „    6 

T.  H.  Parke    . 

Captain  and  Surgeon  „    7,  Somalis  and 

Zanzibaris. 

Mr.  William  Bonny  takes  charge  of  transport  and  riding  animals  and 
live  stock,  and  assists  Surgeon  Parke  when  necessary. 

"Each  officer  is  personally  responsible  for  the  good 
behaviour  of  his  company  and  the  condition  of  arms  and 
accoutrements." 

"  Officers  will  inspect  frequently  cartridge-pou(;lies  of 
their  men,  and  keep  record  to  prevent  sale  of  annnu- 
nition  to  natives  or  Arabs." 

"  For  trivial  offences — a  slight  corporal  punishment 
only  can  be  inflicted,  and  this  as  seldom  as  possible. 
Officers  will  exercise  discretion  in  this  matter,  and  en- 
deavour to  avoid  irritating  the  men,  by  being  too 
exacting,  or  showing  unnecessary  fussiness." 

"  It  has  been  usual  for  me  to  be  greatly  forbear- 
ing— let  the  rule  be,  three  pardons  for  one  punish- 
ment." 

"  Officers  w^ill  please  remember  tliat  the  labour  of  the 
men  is  severe,  their  l)urdens  are  heavy,  the  climate  hot, 
the  marches  fatiguing,  and  the  rations  poor  and  often 
scanty.  Under  such  conditions  human  nature  is  ex- 
tremely susceptible,  therefore  punishments  should  be 
judicious,  not  vexatious,  to  prevent  straining  patience 
too  much.  Nevertheless  discipline  must  be  taught, 
and  when  necessary  enforced  for  the  general  well- 
being." 

"  Serious  offences  affecting  the  Expedition  generally 
will  be  dealt  with  by  me." 

VOL.    I.  H 


98  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  "  While  on  shipboard  one  officer  will  he  detailed  to 
pri  30.  pgi.f,j^.j^  i]^Q  duties  of  the  day.  He  must  see  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  rations,  ship  cleaned,  and  that  no  fighting 
or  wrangling  occurs,  as  knifing  soon  follows  unless 
checked,  that  the  animals  are  fed  and  watered  regularly. 
For  all  petty  details  apply  to  the  senior  officer,  Major 
Barttelot." 


CHAPTER  V. 

FROM    STANLEY    POOL   TO    YAMBUYA. 

Upper  Congo  scenery— Accident  to  the  Peace — Steamers  reach  Kinipoko 
— Collecting  fuel — The  good-for-nothing  Pexve — The  Htav/ey  in 
trouble — Arrival  at  Bolobo— The  Belief  Expedition  nrranged  in  two 
columns — Major  Barttelot  and  Mr.  Jameson  chosen  for  command  of 
Hear  Column — Arrival  at  Equator  and  Bangala  Stations — The 
Basoko  villages :  Baruti  deserts  us — Arrival  at  Yambuya. 

1887 

As  I  have  already  expatiated  at  large  upon  the  descrip-     jj^iy  i, 
tion  of  scenes  of  the  Upper  Congo,  I  intend  to  expunge     upjier 
altogether  any  impressions  made  on  us  according  to  our    '-'^'^g"- 
varying  moods  during  our  river  voyage  of  about  1100 
miles  to  Yambuya.       I  will   confine  myself  to   the  in- 
cidents. 

The  days  passed  quickly  enough.  Their  earlier  hours 
presented  to  us  every  morning  panoramas  of  forest-land, 
and  myriads  of  forest  isles,  and  broad  channels  of  dead 
calm  water  so  beshone  by  the  sun  that  they  resembled 
rivers  of  quicksilver.  In  general  one  might  well  have 
said  that  they  were  exceedingly  monotonous,  that  is  if  the 
traveller  was  moving  upward  day  by  day  past  the  same 
scenes  from  such  a  distance  as  to  lose  perception  of  the 
details.  But  we  skirted  one  bank  or  the  other,  or 
steered  close  to  an  island  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  deep 
water,  and  therefore  were  saved  from  the  tedium  of  the 
monotony. 

Seated  in  an  easy-chair  scarcely  40  feet  from  the 
shore,  every  revolution  of  the  propeller  caused  us  to  see 
new  features  of  foliage,  bank,  trees,  shrubs,  plants,  buds 
and  blossoms.  We  might  l)e  indifferent  to,  or  ignorant 
of  the  character  and  virtues  of  the  several  plants  and 
varied  vegetation  we  saw,  we  might  have  no  interest  in 


100 


7^   DAllKEST  AFRIOA. 


Upper 
Cons-o 


1887.  any  portion  of  the  shore,  but  we  certainly  forgot  the 
^^^  ^-  lapse  of  time  while  observing  the  outward  forms,  and 
were  often  kindled  into  livelier  interest  wdienever  an 
inhaljitant  of  the  air  or  of  the  water  appeared  in  the 
field  of  vision.  These  delightful  views  of  perfectly 
calm  waters,  and  vivid  green  forests  with  every  sprig 
and  leaf  still  as  death,  and  almost  unbroken  front  line 
of  thick  leafy  bush  sprinkled  with  butterflies  and  moths 
and  insects,  and  wide  rivers  of  shining  water,  will  remain 
longer  in  our  minds   than    the   stormy   aspects  which 


B'lANLEY    1-OUL 


distiirb('(l  tlic  cxiiuisiic  repose  of  nature  almost  every 
aftcniodii. 

From  the  middle  ol'  .M;iivh  to  tlie  middle  of  JVluy 
\v;is  the  i-ainy  season,  ami  daily,  soon  after  2  P.M., 
the  sky  lK'tok('iie(l  the  aj)j)roa(li  of  n  lowering  tempest; 
the  sun  was  hidden  1)\-  the  dark  poilenU  of  storms,  and 
soon  ;dier  the  I  hii  ndefl  lol  1  s  i-eiil  t  li(i  gloom,  lightning 
})lazed  llij-oMLih  it,  the  r.iiii  jxiuivd  willi  tfo))ieal  copious- 
ness, and  <j-enei'a]  misery  picAailed  and  the  darkness  of 
the  night   followed. 

Nat  NIC  and  time  \vei-i'  ai  their  best  for  us.  Tlie  river 
was  ncillier   loo   hi;rh   nor  too  low.      Were  it  the  former 


UPPER    CONGO   SCENERY.  101 

we  should  have  hud  tlie  difficulty  of  finding  uninundated  i887. 
ground ;  had  it  been  the  latter  we  should  have  1>een  ^^''>'  ^• 
tediously  delayed  by  the  shallows.  We  were  permitted  JJiJgJ", 
to  steer  generally  about  40  yards  from  the  left  bank, 
and  to  enjoy  without  interruption  over  1000  miles  of 
changing  hues  and  forms  of  vegetable  life,  which  for 
tlieir  variety,  greenness  of  verdure,  and  wealth  and  scent 
of  flowers,  the  world  cannot  equal.  Tornadoes  were  rare 
during  the  greater  portion  of  the  day,  whereby  we  escaped 
many  terrors  and  perils  ;  they  occurred  in  the  evening 
or  the  night  oftener,  when  we  should  be  safely  moored  to 
the  shore.  Mosquitoes,  gadflies,  tsetse  and  gnats  were 
not  so  vicious  as  formerly.  Far  more  than  half  tlie  jour- 
ney was  completed  before  we  w^ere  reminded  of  their 
existence  by  a  few  incorrigible  vagrants  of  each  species. 
The  pugnacious  hippopotami  and  crocodiles  were  on  this 
occasion  well-behaved.  The  aborigines  were  modest  in 
their  expectations,  and  in  many  instances  they  gave 
goats,  fowls,  and  eggs,  bananas  and  plantains,  and 
were  content  with  "  chits  "  on  Mr.  John  Eose  Troup, 
who  would  follow  us  later.  Our  health  was  excellent, 
indeed  remarkably  good,  compared  with  former  expe- 
riences ;  whether  the  English  were  better  adapted  phy- 
sically, or  whether  they  declined  to  yield,  I  know  not, 
but  1  had  fewer  complaints  on  this  than  on  any  previous 
expedition. 

On  the  1st  of  May  the  start  up  the  Congo  was  com- 
menced with  the  departure  of  the  Henry  Reed  and  two 
barges,  with  Tippu-Til)  and  96  followers  and  35  of 
our  men.  Soon  after  her  followed  the  Stanley  and  her 
consort  the  i^/(>r/c/(2,  with  336  people,  besides  6  donkeys,, 
and  cargoes  of  goods  ;  and  half-an-hour  later  the 
Peace  attempted  to  follow,  with  135  passengers  on 
board  ;  but  the  good  wishes  of  the  people  on  shore  had 
scarcely  died  away,  and  we  were  breasting  the  rapid 
current,  when  her  rudder  snapped  in  two.  Her  captain 
commanded  the  anchors  to  be  dropped,  which  happened 
to  be  over  exceedingly  rugged  ground  where  the  current 
was  racing  six  knots.  The  boat  reeled  to  her  beam  ends, 
the  chains  tore  her  deck,  and  as  the  anchors  could  not 


10^  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     be  lifted,  beiiio;  foul  among  the  rocks  below,  we  had  to 

^^y  ^'    cut  ourselves  loose  and  to  return  to  Kinshassa  landing- 

Sngo.    place.     Captain  Whitley   and  Mr.  David   Charters   the 

engineer  set  to  to  repair  the  rudder,  and  at  8  p.m.  their 

task  was  completed. 

The  next  morning  we  liad  better  fortune,  and  in  due 
time  we  reached  Kimpoko  at  the  head  of  the  Pool,  where 
the  other  steamers  awaited  us. 

The  Peace  led  the  advance  up  river  on  the  3rd  ;  but 
the  Stanley  drew  up,  passed  us,  and  reached  camp  an 
hour  and  a  half  ahead  of  us.  The  Henry  Reed  was  last 
because  of  want  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  her  captain. 

The  Peace  was  spasmodic.  She  steamed  well  for  a 
short  time,  then  suddenly  slackened  speed.  AVe  waited 
half  an  hour  for  another  spurt.  Her  boiler  w^as  a  system 
of  coiled  tubes,  and  her  propellers  were  enclosed  in  twin 
cylindrical  shells  under  the  stern,  and  required  to  be 
driven  at  a  furious  rate  Ijefore  any  speed  could  be 
obtained.      She  will  probably  give  us  great  trouble. 

As  soon  as  we  camped,  which  we  generally  did  about 
5  P.M.,  each  otlicer  nmstered  his  men,  for  wood  cutting 
for  the  morrow's  fuel.  This  was  sometimes  very  hard 
work,  and  continued  for  hours  into  the  night.  The 
w(jod  of  dead  trees  requii-ed  to  be  sought  by  a  number  of 
men  and  conveyed  to  the  landing-place  for  the  cutters. 
For  such  a  steamer  as  the  Stanlcj/  it  would  require  fifty 
men  to  seai-i-li  loi'  aii<l  carry  wood  for  (juite  two  hours  ; 
it  would  reipiire  a  (Idzcu  axemen  to  cut  it  uji  into  30-inch 
lengths  for  tlie  grates.  The  Peace  and  Henry  Reed  re- 
quired half  as  many  axes  and  ;m  (M|u;i1  amount  of  time  to 
q)repare  their  fuel.  It  must  then  be  stored  on  ])oard  the 
steaiii('i-s  tliat  ii(»  dflay  niiglit  take  ])lace  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  lliis  rc(|uir('d  sdiiic  more  work  l)efore  silence, 
wliicli  b(ifits  the  night,  could  be  obtained,  and  in  the 
meantime,  the  lircs  wci'c  blazing  to  atl'ord  light,  and  the 
noise  of  Clash  in'j,  cut  I  ing.  and  splitting  of  logs  continued 
nici'rily. 

The  gooddor-iiot  hing  l\(icc  continiicd  to  j)r()\'()ke 
us  on  the  4tli  May.  She  was  certainly  one  of  the 
Hiowest    steamers    any    slii|»lniilder    <'ould    br'^ld.       We 


THE  STEAMERS   "  PEACE''      AND    ''STANLEY."        103 


1887. 
Mav  4. 


halted  every  forty-five  minutes  or  so  to  "  oil  up," 
and  sometimes  had  to  halt  to  clear  out  the  cylinders  of 
the  propellers,  had  to  stop  to  raise  steam,  to  have  the  cdngo. 
grate  cleared  out  of  charcoal,  while  five  minutes  after 
raising  steam  up  to  60°,  she  fell  to  40°,  and  then  35°,  and 
the  poor  miserable  thing  floated  down  stream  at  the  rate 
of  a  knot  an  hour.  We  lost  seven  days  at  Stanley  Pool 
through  her  ;  a  day  was  lost  when  the  rudder  broke ; 
we  were  fated  to  be  belated. 

The  next  day,  the  5th,  we  made  fast  to  the  landing- 
place  of  Mswata.  The  Major  and  Dr.  Parke  had  arrived 
four  days  previously.  They  had  prepared  quantities  of 
fuel,  and  had  purchased  a  large  pile  of  provisions — 
loaves  of  bread  from  the  manioc  root  and  Indian 
corn. 

On  the  6th  the  Major  and  his  companions  received 
orders  to  march  their  men  to  Kwamouth,  and  await  the 
steamer.  The  Stanley  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Bolobo, 
debark  her  passengers,  and  descend  to  Kwamouth  to 
convey  Barttelot  and  men,  while  we  reorganized  com- 
panies at  Bolobo. 

On  the  7th  we  observed  the  Stanley  steamer  ashore 
on  the  left  bank  near  Chumbiri,  and  proceeding  to  her 
to  inquire  into  the  delay  discovered  that  she  was  badly 
injured  ])y  running  on  a  rocky  reef.  The  second  section 
had  been  pierced  in  four  separate  places  and  several 
rivets  knocked  out  and  others  loosened.  We  therefore 
set  to  with  the  engineers  of  all  the  other  steamers  to 
repair  her,  but  Messrs.  Charters  and  Walker,  both 
Scotchmen,  were  the  most  effective  at  the  repairs.  We 
cut  up  some  old  sheet  iron  oil  drums,  formed  plates  of 
them,  and  screwed  them  in  from  the  outside.  This  was 
a  very  delicate  labour,  requiring  patience  and  nicety  of 
touch,  as  there  were  two  feet  of  water  in  the  hold,  and 
the  screws  required  to  be  felt  to  place  the  nuts  on,  as 
well  as  the  punching  of  holes  through  the  bottom  of  the 
steamer.  The  engineer  was  up  to  his  waist  in  water,  and 
striking  his  chisel  through  an  element  that  broke  the  blow, 
then  there  was  the  preparation  of  the  plate  to  correspond 
with   the  holes  in  the  steamer,  spreading  the  minium, 


104  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  tlien  a  layer  of  canvas,  and  another  layer  of  minium. 
May  7.  "\y]jg2j  everything  was  ready  for  fixing  the  iron  plate,  a 
Congo,  diver  was  sent  down,  the  iron  plate  with  its  canvas  patch 
and  minium  layers  in  one  hand,  and  the  end  of  a  string 
attached  to  a  hole  in  the  plate  in  the  other  hand.  The 
diver  outside  had  to  feel  for  the  corresponding  hole  in 
the  steamer,  and  the  engineer  up  to  his  hips  in  water 
within  the  hold  felt  for  the  end  of  the  twine,  which 
when  found,  was  drawn  in  gently,  and  the  plate  carefully 
guided,  or  the  bolt  was  slipped  in,  and  the  engineer  placed 
the  nut  on.  For  hours  this  tedious  work  went  on,  and 
by  evening  of  the  7th,  one  large  rent  in  the  steel 
hull  had  been  repaired ;  the  8  th  and  9  th  were 
passed  before  the  steamer  was  able  to  continue  her 
voyage. 

On  the  10th  the  Stanley  caught  the  asthmatic  Peace 
up,  and  passed  us  in  company  with  the  Henry  Reed. 
A  few  hours  later  the  Peace  sulked  altogether,  and 
declined  to  proceed.  Only  30  lbs.  steam  could  be 
maintained.  We  were  therefore  compelled  to  make  fast 
to  the  shore.  At  this  period  Mr,  Charters'  face  possessed 
more  interest  than  anything  else  in  the  world.  We 
hung  on  his  words  as  though  they  were  decrees  of  Fate. 
He  was  a  sanguine  and  cheerful  little  man,  and  he 
comforted  us  exceedingly.  He  was  sure  we  would  arrive 
in  B(jlob(j  in  good  time,  though  we  did  not  appear  to  be 
proceeding  very  rapidly  while  tied  to  the  shore. 

The  next  day  we  tried  again,  starting  at  4  a.m,, 
resolved  to  distingiiisli  ourselves.  For  an  hour  the 
Peace  behaved  nobly,  but  final ly  she  sliowed  symptoms 
of  rela[)S('.  Tlic  sfcaiii  (IcsccikUmI  lower  and  lower,  and 
could  not  iciaiii  .')  Il)s.,  and  we  t liei'cfore  cast  anchor.  At 
10  A.M.  the  i;isc  a |)|)ca li ii^  hopeless,  1  despatched  Mr. 
Ward  in  the  whale  hoat  to  obtain  assistance  fi'om  the 
Jlenry  Uccd,  and  at  eight  at  ni<j,lit  she  appeared  and 
anchored  sixty  yards  IVoin  us,  and  all  the  day  we  had 
been  idly  watching'  (he  dark  bi'owii  current  flow  ])y, 
anchored  in  niid-st  icain  ai  least.  .^)00  yards  from  either 
shore  or  island,  seeing  nothing  but  hippopotami,  grassy 
clumps,  weeds,  ami    debris    of  woods    lloaling   l)y.      On 


DECISION  AS    TO    COMMAND    OF  HE  AM    COLUMN.      105 

the  12th  we  arrived  ignoiniiiiously  at  Bolobo  iii  tow  of     i887, 
the  Henri/  Reed.  J*^ 

When  the  traveller  reaches  Uyauzi  such  a  thing  as  coTgo. 
famine  is  scarcely  possible,  and  one  of  the  best  river 
ports  for  abundance  and  variety  of  food  is  Bolobo. 
Here,  then,  after  reaching  a  district  where  the  people 
could  recuperate  and  forget  the  miseries  of  limited 
rations  endured  since  leaving  Lukungu,  was  the  place  to 
form  the  Relief  Expedition  into  two  columns. 

It  was  decided  that  as  the  force  could  not  be  trans- 
ported on  one  voyage  to  the  Upper  Congo,  that  the 
healthiest  men  should  be  selected  to  proceed  to  Yambuya, 
and  that  the  weakly  should  remain  in  Bolobo  as  a 
portion  of  Major  Barttelot's  column  under  Messrs.  Her- 
bert Ward,  and  William  Bonny,  until  the  Stanley 
should  return  from  Yambuya.  We  had  started  from 
England  with  the  cry  of  '"urgency"  in  our  ears  and 
memories,  and  it  behoved  us  to  speed  on  as  well  as 
circumstances  would  permit  in  obedience  to  the  necessity, 
trusting  that  the  rear  column  would  be  able  to  follow 
on  our  tracks  some  six  or  seven  weeks  later. 

We  accordingly  selected  125  men  who  appeared 
weakest  in  body,  and  left  them  at  Bolobo  to  fatten  up 
on  the  bananas  and  excellent  native  bread  and  fish  that 
were  easily  procurable  here.  The  Stanley  in  the  mean- 
time had  descended  to  Kwamouth  with  Major  Barttelot, 
Dr.  Parke,  and  153  men. 

The  vexed  question  was  also  settled  here  as  to  who 
should  take  charo;e  of  the  rear  column.  It  Ijeino;  the 
most  important  post  next  to  mine,  all  eyes  were  natu- 
rally directed  to  the  senior  ofticer,  Major  Barttelot.  It 
was  said  that  he  had  led  a  column  of  a  thousand  men  from 
Kosseir  on  the  Red  Sea  to  Keneh  on  the  Nile,  and  that 
he  had  distinguished  himself  in  Afghanistan  and  in  the 
Soudan  Campaign.  If  these  facts  were  true,  then  un- 
doubtedly he  was  the  fittest  officer  for  the  office  of 
commanding  the  rear  column.  Had  there  been  a  person 
of  equal  rank  with  him,  I  should  certainly  have  dele- 
gated this  charge  to  another,  not  because  of  any  known 
unfitness,  but  because  he  was  so  eager  to  accompany  the 


106  IN  DARKEST  AFBlCA. 

1887.     advance  column.     On  retlecting  on   the  capacities  and 

May  12    ^,^^^^  ^^  ^j-^^  otliei'  gentlemen,  and  tlieir  eagerness  being 

cii'gi.     too  well  known  to  me,  I  informed  the  Major  that  I  could 

not   really  undertake  the  responsibility  of  appointing 

youthful  lieutenants  to  fill  a  post  that  devolved  on  him 

by  rank,  experience,  and  reputation. 

"  One  more  steamer  like  the  Stanley  would  have 
done  it,  Major,  completely,"  I  said,  cheerfully,  for 
the  young  officer  was  sorely  depressed.  "Only  125 
men  and  a  cargo  of  goods  left  of  the  Expedition.  All 
the  rest  are  on  board  comfortably.  If  you  can  discover 
some  better  person  than  yourself  to  take  your  place 
])etween  here  and  Yambuya,  I  would  gladly  know  him. 
I  hope  you  will  not  take  it  too  much  to  heart.  For 
what  does  it  matter  after  all  ?  You  wdio  bring  up  the 
rear  are  as  much  entitled  to  credit  as  we  in  the  advance. 
If  Tippu-Tib  will  only  be  faithful,  you  will  only  be  six 
weeks  Ijehind  us,  and  you  may  overtake  us,  for  we  shall 
l)e  naturally  delayed  a  great  deal,  finding  the  track  and 
boring  our  way  through  all  kinds  of  obstacles.  You 
will  follow  an  indicated  path,  and  frequently  you  may 
be  able  to  make  two  of  our  marches  in  one  day.  If 
Tippu-Tib  does  not  join  us,  you  will  be  master  of  your 
own  column,  and  }'ou  will  be  so  occupied  with  your  task 
that  the  days  will  slip  by  you  fast  enough.  And  I  tell 
you  another  tiling  for  your  comfort.  Major ;  there  is 
plenty  of  work  ahead  of  us,  wherein  you  shall  have  the 
most  important  part.  Now  tell  me,  who  would  you 
wish  for  your  second  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  would  rather  leave  it  to  you." 

"  Nay,  I  would  prefer  you  would  select  some  one  friend 
as  your  ccmipaiiion.  !<»  shai-e  your  hopes  and  thoughts. 
We  all  of  us  lia\-e  oiir  [lai'l  iaiilies,  you  know." 

"  well,  I  licii.   I  clioose  -laineson." 

"Very  well,  Mr.  .lainesfni  sliall  be  a|)|)ointed.  I  will 
speak  to  liiin  myself.  I  will  then  leave  i\lr.  Rose  Troup, 
who  is  u  capital  IcIImw,  1  have  reason  to  believe,  and 
young  Ward  ah' I  l'.iiiiii\-.  l)olh  'IVou[)  and  Ward  speak 
Swahili,  and  I  hey  will  he  ol"  vast  service  to  you." 

In  this  manner  iJie   inattcr  was  ananged,  and  ou  the 


W£  REACH  BAN  a  ALA    STATION.  107 

15th  of  May  the  flotilhi  resumed  the  up-river  voyage,     i887. 
conveying  511  persons  of  the  Expedition,  and  Tippu-   ^"^  ^^' 
Tib  and  ninety  of  his  foUowers.  Co^ngo. 

We  made  a  fair  journey  on  the  16th,  the  repairs  on 
the  Peace  having  greatly  improved  her  rate  of  progress, 
and  on  the  19th  made  ftist  to  the  shore  near  the  Baptist 
Mission  of  LukoleLa,  though  the  Stanley  did  not  make 
her  appearance  until  late  on  the  19th. 

We  halted  on  the  20th  at  Lukolela,  to  purchase  food 
for  our  journey  to  Equator  Station,  and  we  were 
extremely  grateful  for  the  kind  hospitality  shown  to  us 
by  the  missionaries  at  this  station. 

On  the  24th  of  May  we  arrived  at  Equator  Station, 
now  owned  by  the  Sanford  Company,  which  was  repre- 
sented by  Mr.  E.  J.  Glave,  a  young  and  clever  York- 
shireman.  Captain  Van  Gele  was  also  here,  with  five 
Houssa  soldiers  lately  returned  from  a  futile  effort  to  as- 
cend the  Mobancji  hio-her  than  Mr.  Grenfell,  the  mission- 
ary,  had  succeeded  in  doing  some  months  previously. 

We  reached  Bangala  Station  on  the  30th  May.  This 
place  was  now  a  very  large  and  prosperous  settlement. 
There  was  a  garrison  of  sixty  men  and  two  Krupps,  for 
defence.  Bricks  were  made,  of  excellent  quality  ;  40,000 
had  already  been  manufactured.  The  establishment  was 
in  every  way  very  creditable  to  Central  Africa.  The 
chief,  Van  Kirkhoven,  was  absent  at  Langa-Langa.  He 
had  lately  succeeded  in  releasing  twenty-nine  Houssa 
soldiers  from  slavery.  During  the  escape  ofDeane  from 
Stanley  Falls,  these  Houssas  had  precipitately  retreated 
into  a  canoe,  and  had  floated  as  far  as  Upoto  when  they 
were  captured  as  runaways  by  the  natives  of  the  district. 

Among  other  good  qualities  of  Bangala,  there  is  a 
never-failing  supply  of  food.  The  station  possessed 
130  goats  and  a  couple  of  hundred  fowls,  which  supplied 
the  officers  with  fresh  eggs.  Ten  acres  were  green  with 
a  promising  rice  crop.  The  officers  enjoyed  wine  of  palm 
and  banana,  and  fermented  beer  made  of  sugar-cane, 
and  exceedingly  potent  I  found  the  latter  to  be. 

At  Bangala  I  instructed  Major  Barttelot  to  proceed 
with  Tippu-Tib  and  party  direct  to  Stanley  Falls,  having 


108  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     first  taken  out  thirty -five  Zanzibaris  from  the  boats,  and 

May  30.   replaced  them  with  forty  Soudanese,  that  none  of  the 

Crago.    Zanzibaris  miglit  become  acquainted  with  tlie  fact  that 

Stanley  Falls  was  but  a  few  days'  march  from  Yambuya. 

With  the  exception  of  certain  irregularities  in  the 
behaviour  of  the  steamer  Stanley,  which  by  some 
mysterious  manoeuvres  disappeared  amid  intricate 
passages,  on  the  plea  that  sufHcient  fuel  of  a  right 
quality  could  be  found,  w^e  steamed  up  to  the  Aruwimi 
River  without  any  incident,  and  arrived  at  our  ancient 
camp,  opposite  the  Basoko  villages,  on  June  12th. 

The  Basoko  were  the  countrymen  of  Baruti,  or 
"  Gunpowder,"  who  had  been  captured  by  Karema  when 
a  child,  in  1883,  and  had  been  taken  to  England  by  Sir 
Francis  de  Winton,  with  a  view  of  impressing  on  him 
the  superiority  of  civilized  customs.  From  Sir  Francis' 
care  Baruti  passed  into  mine,  and  here  we  were  at  last 
in  view  of  his  natal  village  and  tribe,  from  which  he  had 
been  absent  six  years. 

Seeing  Baruti  eyeing  with  excessive  interest  the  place 
of  his  birth,  he  was  encouraged  by  me  to  hail  the 
Basoko,  and  invite  them  to  visit  us.  My  previous 
attempts  at  winning  the  confidence  of  these  forest 
natives  had  been  failures,  though  in  time  I  was  sure 
there  would  be  no  difficulty.  For  a  long  period  it  had 
been  an  interesting  question  to  me  why  aborigines  of 
the  forest  were  more  intractable  and  coy  than  natives  of 
the  open  country.  The  same  methods  had  been  applied, 
the  dangling  of  some  bright  or  gaudy  article  of  barter, 
the  strings  of  beads  of  dazzling  colour,  suspended 
patiently,  tlic  .iiirul  speecli,  tlie  alluiiug  smile  and 
gesture,  ;ill  were  icsoi'Icd  to  foi"  long  hours,  but  always 
('ti<1iiiL;  uilli  <lis;i[)|)(»iii(iii('iit  ;iii(l  postponement  to  a 
iiioic  Icisiii'cly  occasion.  \\\\\,  I  lie  I'cason  is  that  the 
forest  lias  been  always  a  li.iiidy  fastness  for  retreat, 
tlie  suspicion  of  llie  str.'ingci',  and  the  c(mvenient  depth 
of  trackless  wooils  plead  strongly  against  some  indefinite 
risk.  The  least  aiKaiice  causes  a  precipitate  backward 
movement  until  lie  gains  tlie  limits  of  the  forest,  and 
then   lu;  stands   to   take   a   last  survey,  and   finally  dis- 


MY  BLACK  BOY  BAJIUTI  AND   IITS  BROTHER.        109 

appears  into  the  gloom  with  an  air  of  "It  won't  do,  you     i887. 
know  ;  you  can't  come  over  me."     Whereas  in  the  open   •'""^  ^''^• 
country  the  native  has  generally  some  coign  of  vantage,     cingo. 
some  eminence,  a  tree  or  an  ant-hill,  from  the  crest  of 
which  he  has  taken  his  observations,  and  been  warned 
and  informed  of  the  character  of  the  strangers,  in  the 
forest   the    stranger   meets    the    tenant    of    the   woods 
abruptly ;  he  has  advanced  out  of  the    unknown,  wdth 


BARUTI   FINDS   HIS   BKOTHEE. 


purpose  unfathomed.      Surprise  is  in    the  face   of  one, 
terror  marks  the  face  of  the  other. 

Baruti  hailed,  and  the  canoes  advanced  towards  us 
with  a  tediously  slow  process,  but  finally  they  ap- 
proached within  easy  hearing.  He  recognized  some  oi 
the  canoe-men,  and  informed  them  that  they  had  no 
cause  for  fear.  He  asked  for  a  person  wdiose  name  he 
uttered,  and  the  wild  men  hallooed  the  word  with 
splendid  lung-power  across  the  river,  until  some  one 
responded,  and  embarked  in  a  canoe  and  approached. 
This  turned  out  to  be  Baruti's  elder  brother.     Baruti 


110  IN   DARKEST  AFRjrA 

1887.  demanded  to  know  how  his  brother  fared,  after  so  many 
June  12.  yg^pg  q£  absence.  The  brother  eyed  him  vacantly,  could 
Cfengo.    not  recognize  any  feature  in  him,  and  grunted  his  doubt. 

Baruti  mentioned  the  name  of  his  parents,  that  of  his 
father,  and  afterwards  that  of  his  mother.  Great  in- 
terest now  manifested  itself  in  his  brother's  face,  and  he 
skilfully  drew  his  canoe  nearer. 

"  If  you  are  my  brother,  tell  me  some  incident,  that 
I  may  know  you." 

"  Thou  hast  a  scar  on  thy  arm— there,  on  the  right. 
Dost  thou  not  remember  the  crocodile  ? " 

This  w^as  enough  ;  the  young,  broad-chested  native 
gave  a  shout  of  joy,  and  roared  out  the  discovery  to  his 
countrymen  on  the  further  bank,  and  Baruti  for  the  first 
time  shed  tears.  The  young  fellow  drew  near  to  the 
ship,  forgot  his  fears  of  the  strangers,  and  gave  Baruti  a 
frantic  hug,  and  the  other  canoes  advanced  to  participate 
in  the  joy  of  the  two  restored  brothers. 

In  the  evening  Baruti  was  offered  his  choice  of  staying 
in  his  village  among  his  tribe,  or  of  following  our 
adventures  ;  at  the  same  time  he  was  advised  not  to 
leave  us,  as  life  among  the  Basoko  would  be  very 
insecure  with  the  Arabs  in  sucli  close  proximity  as 
Stanley  Falls. 

The  lad  appeared  to  think  so  too,  and  so  declined  to 
be  restored  to  his  native  land  and  tribe  ;  but  a  day  or 
two  after  reacliing  Yambuya  he  altered  his  mind,  came 
into  my  tent  in  the  dead  of  night,  armed  himself  with 
my  Wincliestcr  liflo  and  a  1)ra<'0  of  Smith  and  Wesson 
revolvers,  a  supply  of  ritlc  and  revolver  cartridges,  took 
possession  of  a  silver  load-watch,  a  silver  pedometer,  a 
handsome  l)elt  witli  iitted  pouclies,  a  small  sum  of 
money,  and,  possessing  himself  of  a  eanoe,  disappeared 
down  ri\'er  lo  .-^unie  parts  unknown,  most  probably  to 
his  tribe.  At  any  rale,  we  lia\'e  ne\'er  seen  or  heard 
of  liim  since.      IN-ace  be  with  liini  ! 

On  the  I. Mil  (if  June  we  arii\(Ml  op])osite  Yambuya 
villafres,  silnale(|  mi  I  lie  lel'l  liank  of  the  Ai'uwimi, 
on  miles  above  llie  eonlhience  o(  the  Aruwimi  and  the 
Congo. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AT   YAMBUYA. 

We  land  at  Yamhuya  villages — The  Stanley  leaves  for  Equator  Station — 
Fears  regarding  Major  Barttelot  and  the  Henry  Heed — Safe  arrival — 
Instructions  to  Major  Barttelot  and  Mr.  Jameson  respecting  the 
Rear  Column  —  Major  Barttelot's  doubts  as  to  Tippu-Tib's  good 
faith— A  long  conversation  with  Major  Barttelot — Memorandum  for 
the  officers  of  the  Advance  Column — Illness  of  Lieutenant  Stairs — 
Last  night  at  Yambuya — Statements  as  to  our  forces  and  accoutre- 
ments. 

We  were  now  over  1300  miles  from  the  sea.  Opposite  to  ^l^^\^ 
us  were  the  villages  which  we  hoped,  with  the  goodwill  lam  uya. 
of  the  natives,  to  occupy  temporarily  as  a  depot  for  the 
men  and  stores  left  at  Bolobo  and  Leopoldville,  125 
men  and  about  GOO  porter-loads  of  impedimenta  ;  if  not 
with  the  natives'  goodwill  by  fair  purchase  of  the 
privilege,  then  by  force. 

On  an  exploring  visit  in  1883  I  had  attempted 
to  conciliate  them  without  any  permanent  result. 
We  had  a  very  serious  object  in  view  now.  In 
prospective  we  saw  only  the  distant  ports  of  the 
Nile  and  the  Albert  Nypnza,  defended  by  men  ever 
casting  anxious  glances  to  every  cardinal  point  of  the 
compass,  expectant  of  relief,  as  they  must  by  this  time 
be  well  informed  by  our  couriers  from  Zanzibar  ;  but 
between  us  and  them  was  a  broad  region  justly  marked 
with  whiteness  on  the  best  maps  extant.  Looking  at 
that  black  wall  of  forest  which  had  been  a  continuous 
bank  of  tall  woods  from  Bolobo  hitherto,  except  when 
disparted  by  the  majestic  streams  pouring  their  volu- 
minous currents  to  the  parent  river,  each  of  us  probably 
had  his  own  thoughts  far  hidden  in  the  recesses  of  the 
mind.      Mine    were    of    that    ideal    Governor    m   tne 


112 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
June  15. 

Yambuya. 


midst  of  his  garrisons,  cheering  and  encouraging  his 
valiant  soldiers,  pointing  with  hand  outstretched  to 
the  direction  whence  the  expected  relief  would  surely 
approach  if  it  were  the  will  of  God,  and  in  the  dis- 
tance beyond  I  saw  in  my  imagination  the  Mahdist 
hordes  advancing  with  frantic  cries  and  thrilling 
enthusiasm  crying  out,  "  Yallah,  Yallali,"  until  from  end 
to  end  of  the  swaying  lines  the  cry  was  heard  rolling 
through  the  host  of  fervid  and  fanatical  warriors,  and 
on  the  other  sides  multitudes  of  savages  vowed  to  exter- 


A   TYI'ICAL    VII.LAGK    ON'    TIIK    LoWEU 
AKLWIMI. 


minalioii  hiding  their  time,  and  lu'twceii  them  and  us 
was  this  huge  area  of  the  uukiiowii  without  a  track  or  a 
I)atli. 

Animuiiit ion  was  serve*!  out  hy  the  captains  of  the 
c.onip.'iiiies.  ;ind  insti-uct ions  wei'c^  issued  to  them  to  have 
steam  n|>  on  lio.uil  llicir  icspcctive  steamers  that  we 
mi;i;Iil  coiiinifncc  ilic  (iist  most  iinpoi'tant  move  pre- 
paratory to  niai'diiiiLi-  towards  llie  Alhei't  Nyanza, 

At  six  o'clock  ill  I  lie  iiioriiiii^-  of  I  lie  l()tli  of  June  the 
Peace  g1ide<l  I'loin  licr  IkiiIi  imiil  she  was  abreast  of 
the  Sf.<i,nl('i/,  ■•iiid  wiieii  iie.ir  enough  to  Ite  lieard,  I  re- 
quested tlie  oliieeis  to  ;i\viiit  my  signal    Then,  steaming 


EXCITEMENT   OF   THE  NATIVES    OF   YAMBUYA.     113 


gently  across  the  river,  we  attempted  to  soothe  the  fears 
and  quiet  the  excitement  of  the  natives  by  remaining 
abreast  of  the  great  crowd  that  stood  upon  the  1  )luffy  Ijank 
fifty  feet  aljove  us,  regarding  us  with  wonder  and  curiosity. 
Our  interpreter  was  well  able  to  make  himself  under- 
stood, for  the  natives  of  the  lower  Aruwimi  speak  but 
one  language.  After  an  hour's  interchange  of  compli- 
ments and  friendly  phrases,  they  were  induced  to  send  a 
few  of  the  boldest  down  to  the  river's  edge,  and  by  a 
slight  movement  of  the  helm  the  current  pushed  the 


1887. 
.June  16. 

Yaiiibuya, 


OUK    LANDING    AT   YAMBUYA. 


steamer  close  to  the  bank,  where  another  hour  was 
passed  in  entreaty  and  coaxing  on  our  part,  denials  and 
refusals  on  the  other.  AYe  succeeded  in  the  purchase  of 
one  of  their  knives  for  a  liberal  quantity  of  beads ! 
Encouraged  by  this,  we  commenced  to  negotiate  for 
leave  to  reside  in  their  village  for  a  few  weeks  at  a  price 
in  cloth,  beads,  wire,  or  iron,  but  it  was  met  with 
consistent  and  firm  denial  for  another  hour. 

It  was  now  nine  o'clock,  my  throat  was  dry,  the  sun  was 
getting  hot,  and  I  signalled  to  the  steamer  Stanley  to 

VOL.    I.  I 


114  IN  BAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  come  across  and  join  us,  and  when  near  enough,  accord- 
june  16.  jj^g  ^Q  agreement,  a  second  signal  caused  the  steam 
arabuy.v.  ^^.j^^g^jgg  ^-^j  go^^jK^i^  r^^i^  uudcr  covcr  of  thc  deafening 
sounds,  pent  up  as  they  were  by  the  lofty  walls  of  the 
forest,  both  steamers  were  steered  to  the  shore,  and  the 
Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese  scrambled  up  the  steep  sides 
of  the  l)luff  like  monkeys,  and  when  the  summit  was 
gained  not  a  villager  was  in  sight. 

We  found  Yambuya  settlement  to  consist  of  a  series 
of  villages  of  conical  huts  extending  along  the  crest  of 
the  bank,  whence  far-reaching  views  of  the  Aruwimi  up 
and  down  stream  could  be  obtained.  The  companies 
were  marched  to  their  respective  quarters.  Guards 
were  set  at  the  end  of  every  path  leading  out.  Some 
of  the  men  were  detailed  to  cut  wood  for  a  palisade, 
others  to  collect  fuel,  and  several  squads  were  de- 
spatched to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  fields  and  their 
locality. 

In  the  afternoon  two  natives  from  a  village  below 
Yambuya  made  their  appearance  with  a  flattering  con- 
fidence in  their  demeanour.  They  belonged  to  the  Baburu 
tribes,  to  which  these  various  fragments  of  tribes  between 
Stanley  Falls  and  the  J^ower  Aruwimi  belong.  They 
sold  us  a  few  bananas,  were  well  paid  in  return,  and 
invited  to  return  with  more  food,  and  assurance  was  given 
that  they  need  be  under  no  alarm. 

On  the  next  day  men  were  sent  to  collect  manioc 
from  th(i  fields,  (others  Wv'rc?  sent  to  construct  a  palisade, 
a  1 1  it  I'll  was  tra'-cd.  woikcrs  were  appointed  to  dig  a 
trench  for  sinknii;'  the  stockade  ])oles,  woodcutters  were 
sent  to  work  to  prepare  to  load  the  steamers  with  fuel, 
that  witii  I  heir  wcakcncci  crews  they  might  not  be  sur- 
prised on  their  icturn  journey  lo  the  Pool,  and  every- 
where was  life  and  activity. 

Several  (■;i[»iui-es  wer<'  made  in  the  woods,  and  after 
))eing  shown  everything,  the  natives  were  supplied 
with  handfiils  of  beads  to  convey  the  assurance  that 
no  leal"  ou'jiil  to  he  cnlerlained  of  US  and  no  harm  done 
to  t  hem. 

On   the    r.)lh  ihel  sullicieni   had  hccn  (-ut  for  six  days* 


7AMBUYA    SETTLEMENT.  115 

steaming  for  the  Stanley  with  which  she  couhl  proceed      \mi. 
to  Equator  Station.     A  cheque  was  drawn  for  £50  in    *^""*'  '^* 
favour  of  the  Captain,  and  another  for  a  similar  amount     ""'"'"y''- 
for  the  engineer,  on  Ransom,  Bouverie  &  Co.,  and  both 
were  handed  in  their  presence  to  Mr.  Jameson  to  be 
presented  to  them  on  their  return   from  Stanley  Pool, 
provided  they  safely  reached  Yambuya  about  the  middle 
of  August.      A  valuable  jewel  was   sent  to  Lieutenant 
Liebrichts    as    a    token    of  my  great    regard  for    him. 
The  Stanlej/  left  next  morning  with  my  letters  to  the 
Em  in  Relief  Committee. 

The  Peace  was  detained  for  the  sake  of  accompanying 
her  consort,  the  Henry  Reed,  which  was  now  hourly 
expected  from  Stanley  Falls  according  to  the  instruc- 
tions given  to  Major  Barttelot,  as  she  ought  to  have 
reached  us  on  the  19th. 

In  a  wild  country  like  this,  cannibals  in  the  forest  on 
either  hand,  and  thousands  of  slave  raiders  in  such  a 
close  vicinity  as  Stanley  Falls,  we  were  naturally 
prone  to  suspect  the  occurrence  of  serious  events,  if 
one's  expectations  were  not  promptly  and  punctually 
realized.  Major  Barttelot  had  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
Aruwimi  on  the  11th  inst.  in  command  of  the  steamer 
Henry  Reed,  conveying  Tippu-Tib  and  party  to  a  settle- 
ment from  which  an  English  commandant  and  garrison 
had  been  precipitately  ousted.  True,  the  Arab  chief 
had  been  very  confident  in  his  manner,  and  earnest  in 
the  assurance  that  in  nine  days  after  arriving  at  his 
settlement  he  would  present  himself  at  Yambuya  with 
600  carriers  in  accordance  with  his  agreement,  and  I  was 
loth  to  believe  that  he  was  in  any  way  responsible  for 
this  detention  of  the  Major.  Yet  the  Major  should 
have  reached  Stanley  Falls  on  the  13th,  on  the  evening 
of  the  14tli  he  should  have  been  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Aruwimi  again,  and  on  the  16tli  at  Yambuya;  that 
is,  provided  the  Major  was  gifted  with  the  spirit  of 
literal  performance  and  permitted  nothing  to  tempt  him 
to  delay.  It  was  now  the  21st.  The  ofticers  were  con- 
fident that  nothing  had  occurred  but  the  delays  natural 
to  circumstances  of  existence  in  Africa,  but  hourly  I 


116  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  found  myself  straying  to  the  edge  of  the  bluff  sweeping 
June  21.  ^|-^g  ^,^g^^,  down  river  with  my  glass, 
am  uya.  q^^  ^|^^  22nd  my  uueasiuess  was  so  great  that  I  penned 
an  order  to  Lieutenant  Stairs  to  take  fifty  of  the  best 
men,  and  the  jMaxini  machine  gun,  to  proceed  down  river 
on  the  morning  of  the  23rd  with  the  Peace  to  search  for 
the  Henry  Reed,  and  if  all  other  eventualities  mentioned 
and  explained  had  not  transpired  to  proceed  to  Stanley 
Falls.  On  arrivins;  before  this  settlement  if  the  vessel 
was  seen  at  the  landing-place,  and  his  friendly  signals 
as  he  advanced  were  not  responded  to,  he  was  to 
prepare  everything  for  assault  and  re-capture  of  the 
steamer,  and  to  hurry  back  to  me  with  the  news  if 
unsuccessful. 

At  5  P.M.,  however,  the  Zanzibaris  rang  out  the 
w^elcome  cry  of  "  Sail  ho  ! "  Barttelot  was  safe,  no 
accident  had  occurred.  Tippu-Tib  had  not  captured 
the  vessel,  the  Soudanese  had  not  mutinied  against  the 
]\Iajor,  the  natives  had  not  assaulted  the  sleeping  camp 
by  night,  the  steamer  had  not  been  sunk  by  a  snag  nor 
had  she  been  run  aground,  and  the  boat  for  wdiich  we 
were  morally  responsible  to  the  Mission  was  in  as  good 
order  and  condition  as  when  she  left  Stanley  Pool.  But 
in  Africa  it  is  too  wearing  to  be  the  victim  of  such 
anxieties. 

The  Major  liad  l)cen  simply  detained  by  various  mis- 
chances— fighting  witli  natives,  palaver  with  Tippu-Tib 
and  men,  &c.  &c. 

Two  days  later  the  steamers  Peace  and  Henry  Reed 
were  loaded  witli  fuel  and  despatclied  homeward  down 
river,  and  we  hail  scxcicil  the  last  biik  with  civilization 
for  many  a  iikimi  li  Id  ciinic 

On  this  (la\-  I  (lcli\cic'l  llic  foll'»\ving  letter  of  instruc- 
tions to  Major  llaiMciol.  and  a  <'»j)y  of  it  to  Mr.  J.  S. 
.lanicson  his  second  m  cnniniand. 

June  24th,  1887. 

7'n  Ma.KHC    liAliTI'KI.OT,  itc,  (StC,  ('fec. 

Siu,  -Ah  tlif  M'liior  of  tlio^c!  ofliccrs  ufcoiiipunyin^  mo  on  the  Emin 
TjikIiu  Koliof  Kxpcditioii,  tlio  roimiiainl  of  tliis  iiiiiiortuiit  post  iiiitnrally 
devolves  on  yon.  It  is  iilso  Cor  tlie  intcTest  of  ilie  Kxpeditioii  tluit  you 
uccept  tliJH  coiniijaiid,  from  llic  fact  that  your  Sondanosc  company,  being 


t^TTEk    OF  INSTRUCTION   TO    MAJOR    BARTTELOT.      Il7 

only  soldiers,  and  more  capable  of  j^arripon  duty  than  the  Zanziharis,      jggy 
will  bo  lietter  utilized  tlian  on  the  road.  jy^g  24. 

The  steamer  Stanley  left  Yambuya  on  the  22nd  of  this  month  for  y  , 
Stanley  Pool.  If  she  meets  with  no  mischance  she  ought  to  be  at  ^"'  "^*" 
Leopoldville  on  the  2nd  of  July.  In  two  days  more  she  will  be  loaded 
with  about  500  loads  of  our  goods,  which  were  left  in  charge  of  Mr. 
J.  K.  Troup.  This  gentleman  will  emlmrk,  and  on  the  4th  of  July 
I  assume  that  the  Stanley  will  commence  her  ascent  of  the  river,  and 
arrive  at  Bolobo  on  the  9th.  Fuel  being  ready,  the  125  men  in  charge  of 
Messrs.  Ward  and  Bonny,  now  at  Bolobo,  will  embark,  and  the  steamer 
will  continue  her  journey.  She  will  be  at  Bangala  on  the  19th  of  July, 
and  arrive  here  on  the  31st  of  Jiily.  (Jf  course,  the  lowness  of  the  river 
in  that  month  may  delay  her  a  few  days,  but,  having  great  confidence  in 
her  captain,  yoii  may  certainly  expect  her  before  tlie  10th  of  August.* 

It  is  the  non-arrival  of  these  goods  and  men  which  compel  me  to 
appoint  you  as  commander  of  this  post.  But  as  I  shall  sliortly  expect 
tlie  arrival  of  a  strong  reinforcement  of  m^^n,!  greatly  exceeding  the 
advance  force  which  must,  at  all  hazards,  push  on  to  the  rescue  of  Emin 
Pasha,  I  hope  you  will  not  be  detained  longer  than  a  few  days  after  the 
departure  of  the  Stanley  on  her  final  return  to  Stanley  Pool  in  August. 

Meantime,  pending  the  arrival  of  our  men  and  goods,  it  behoves  you 
to  be  very  alert  and  wary  in  the  command  of  this  stockaded  camp. 
Though  the  camp  is  favourably  situated  and  naturally  strong,  a  brave 
enemy  would  find  it  no  diificult  task  to  capture  if  the  commander  is  lax 
in  discipline,  vigour  and  energy.  Therefore  I  feel  sure  that  I  have  made 
a  wise  choice  in  selecting  you  to  guard  our  interests  here  during  our 
absence. 

The  interests  now  entrusted  to  you  are  of  vital  importance  to  this 
Expedition.  The  men  you  will  eventually  have  under  you  consist  of 
more  than  an  entire  third  of  the  Expedition.  The  goods  that  will  be 
brought  up  are  the  currency  needed  for  transit  through  the  regions 
beyond  the  Lakes  ;  there  will  be  a  vast  store  of  ammunition  and  provi- 
sions, which  are  of  equal  importance  to  us.  The  loss  of  these  men  and 
goods  would  be  certain  ruin  to  us,  and  the  Advance  Force  itself  would 
need  to  solicit  relief  in  its  turn.  Therefore,  weighing  this  matter  well,  I 
hope  you  will  spare  no  pains  to  maintain  order  and  discipline  in  your 
camp,  and  make  your  defences  complete,  and  keep  them  in  such  a  condi- 
tion, that  however  brave  an  enemy  may  be  he  can  make  no  impression 
on  them.  For  this  latter  jKirpose  I  would  reconm)end  you  to  make  an 
artificial  ditch  6  feet  wide,  3  feet  deep,  leading  from  the  natural  ditch, 
where  the  spring  is  round  the  stockade.  A  platform,  like  that  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  camp,  constructed  near  the  eastern  as  well  as 
the  western  gate,  would  be  of  advantage  to  the  strength  of  the  camp. 
For  remember,  it  is  not  the  natives  alone  who  may  wish  to  assail  you, 
but  the  Arabs  and  their  followers  may,  througli  some  cause  or  other, 
quarrel  with  you  and  assail  your  camp. 

Our  course  from  here  will  be  due  east,  or  by  magnetic  compass  east  by 
south  as  near  as  possible.  Certain  marches  that  we  may  make  may  not 
exactly  lead  in  the  direction  aimed  at.  Nevertheless,  it  is  the  south-west 
corner  ot  Lake  Albert,  near  or  at  Kavalli,  that  is  our  destination.  When 
we  arrive  there  we  shall  form  a  strong  camp  in  the  neighbourhood, 
launch  our  boat,  and  steer  for  Kibero,  in  Unyoro,  to  hear  from  Signor 


*  She  arrived  on  the  14th  of  August.     Had  been  detained  a  few  days 
by  rimniug  on  a  snag. 

t  Tippu-Tib's  GOO  carriers. 


11^  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA 

1887.      Casati,  if  he  is  there,  of  the  condition  of  Emin  Pasha.     If  the  latter  is 

June  24.    alive,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Lake,  wc  shall  communicate  with 

Yambuva    '^"^'  ^^"^  °^^^"  ^'^^^^  conduct  must  be  guided  by  -niiat  we  shall  learn  of  the 

^  ■  intentions  of  Emin  Pasha.     We  mayassume  that  we  shall  not  he  longer 

than  a  fortnight  with  him  before  "deciding  on  our  return  towards  the 

cam]i  along  the  same  road  traversed  by  us. 

We  will  endeavour,  by  blazing  trees  and  cutting  saplings  along  our 
road,  to  leave  sufficient  traces  of  the  route  taken  by  us.  We  shall  always 
take,  by  jireference,  tracks  leading  eastward.  At  all  crossings  where  paths 
intersect,  we  shall  hoe  up  and  make  a  hole  a  few  inches  deep  across  all 
paths  not  used  by  us,  besides  blazing  trees  when  possible. 

It  may  hapjien,  should  Tip]m-Tib  have  sent  the  full  number  of  adults 
promised  by  him  to  me,  viz.,  600  men  (able  to  carry  loads),  and  the 
Stanley  has  arrived  safely  with  the  123  men  left  by  me  at  Bolobo,  that 
you  will  feel  yourself  sufficiently  competent  to  march  the  column,  with 
all  the  goods  bronght  by  the  Stanhfi,  and  those  left  by  me  at  Yambuya, 
along  the  road  ]uirsuetl  by  me.  In  that  event,  which  would  be  very 
desirable,  you  will  follow  closely  our  route,  and  before  many  days  we 
should  most  assuredly  meet.  No  doubt  you  will  find  our  bomas  intact 
and  standing,  and  you  should  endeavour  to  make  your  marches  so  that 
you  could  utilise  these  as  you  marched.  Better  guides  than  those  bomas 
of  our  route  could  not  be  made.  If  you  do  not  meet  them  in  the  course 
of  two  days'  march,  you  may  rest  assured  that  you  are  not  on  our 
route. 

It  may  liapi)en,  also,  that  though  Tippu-Tib  has  sent  some  men,  he 
has  not  sent  enough  to  carry  the  goods  with  your  own  force.  In  that 
case  you  will,  of  course,  use  your  discretion  as  to  what  goods  you  can 
dispen.se  with  to  enable  you  to  march.  For  this  jjurpose  you  should 
study  your  list  attentively. 

1st.  Anmiunition,  especially  tixed,  is  n)ost  iniiK)rtant. 

'2nd.  Beads,  brass  wire,  cowries  and  cloth,  rank  next. 

3rd.  Private  luggage. 

4th.  Powder  and  caps. 

5th.  European  provisions. 

Gth.  Brass  rods  as  \ised  on  the  Cbngo. 

7th.  Provisions  (rice,  beans,  peas,  millet,  biscuits). 

Therefore  you  must  consider,  after  rope,  sacking,  tools,  such  as  shovels 
(nev(!r  discard  an  axe  or  bill-hook),  how  many  sacks  of  provisions  you 
can  distribut(;  among  your  men  to  enable  you  to  march— whether  half 
your  Itrass  rods  in  the  boxes  could  not  go  also,  and  there  stop.  If  you 
still  cannot  march,  then  it  would  be  better  to  make  two  marches  of  six 
miles  twice  over,  if  you  ])rcler  marching  to  staying  feu-  our  arrival,  than 
throw  too  many  things  away. 

Witii  th(!  S/ii/ili'i/'a  linal  dcparlun!  from  Yambuya,  you  should  not  fail 
to  send  a  report  to  ]\Ir.  William  ]\Ia('kinnon,  c/o  (Iray,  Dawes  and  Co., 
18,  Austin  Friars,  London,  of  what  has  hap])ened  at  your  camp  in  my 
abs(!nc(!,  or  when  I  started  away  eastward ;  whether  you  have  iieard  of 
or  from  mo  at  all,  wlien  you  do  expect  1o  hear,  and  what  you  jmriDOse 
doing.  You  slioiiM  also  send  him  a  true  co])y  of  this  order,  that  the 
itclicf  (Joinmittce  may  Jiiilgc  for  themselves  whether  you  have  acted,  or 
proiiosi!  to  act,  jndicionsly. 

Your  |»reseiil  garrison  sliall  consist  of  SO  rillcs,  and  from  40  to  50  super- 
numeraries. Tlie  Slaiili !i  is  to  bring  you  v/ithin  a  lew  weeks  50  more 
rifl(\s  and  75  supernumeraries,  under  Messrs.  Trouj),  Ward  and  Bonny. 

I  assfx-iate  Mr.  ,].  S.  Jameson  with  you  at  picseiit.  Messrs.  Troup, 
Wan)  and  I'oiiny,  will  submit  to  your  aullioriiy.  In  the  ordinary  duties 
of  the  defence,  jiml   lln'  (iiniliict   of  the  camp  or  (jf  the  march,  there  is 


LETTER    OF  INSTRUCTION   TO   MAJOR   BARTTELOT.     119 

only  one  cliief,  whicli  is  yourself;  but,  should  any  vital  step  lie  proposed      jgg- 
to  be  taken,  I  beg  you  will  take  the  voice  of  Mr.  Jameson  also.     And    juj,e^4 
when   Messrs.  Troup  and  Ward  are  here,   pray  admit  them  to  your 
confidence,  and  let  them  sjicak  freely  their  opinions.  lamiiuya. 

I  think  I  have  written  very  clearly  upon  everything  that  strikes  me  as 
necessary.  Your  treatment  of  the  natives,  I  suggest,  should  dejjend 
entirely  upon  their  conduct  to  you.  Suffer  them  to  return  to  the  neigh- 
bouring villages  in  peace,  and  if  jou  can  in  any  manner  by  moderation, 
small  gifts  occasionally  of  brass  rods,  &c.,  hasten  an  amicable  intercourse, 
I  should  recommend  you  doing  so.  Lose  no  opportunity  of  obtaining 
all  kinds  of  information  respecting  the  natives,  the  position  of  the  various 
villages  in  your  neighbourhood,  (&c.,  &c. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

Henry  M.  Stanley. 

Commanding  Kxpedition. 

The  Major  withdrew  to  read  it,  and  then  requested 
Mr.  Jameson  to  make  a  few  copies. 

About  two  o'clock  the  Major  returned  to  me  and 
asked  for  an  interview.  He  said  he  desired  to  speak 
with  me  concerning  Tippu-Til). 

"  I  should  like  to  know,  sir,  something  more  regard- 
ing this  Arab.  When  I  was  delayed  a  few  days  ago  at  the 
Falls,  you  were  pleased  to  deliver  some  rather  energetic 
orders  to  Lieutenant  Stairs,  It  strikes  me  that  you  are 
exceedingly  suspicious  of  him,  and  if  so,  I  really  caniKjt 
see  why  you  should  have  anything  to  do  with  such  a 
man." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  discuss  him  with  you, 
or  any  other  subject,"  I  replied. 

"  Three  days  before  your  steamer  was  sighted  coming 
up  river,  I  must  confess  to  have  been  very  anxious  about 
you.  You  were  in  command  of  a  steamer  which 
belonged  to  other  parties  to  whom  we  were  pledged  to 
return  her  within  a  certain  time.  You  had  a  company 
of  forty  soldiers,  Soudanese,  as  your  escort.  The  vessel 
was  well  fitted  and  in  perfect  order.  We  knew  the  time 
you  ought  to  have  occupied,  provided  no  accident 
occurred,  and  as  your  instructions  were  positively  to 
depart  from  Stanley  Falls,  as  soon  as  the  cow  promised 
by  our  friend  Ngalyema  was  aboard,  and  if  she  was  not 
forthcoming  within  an  hour  you  were  to  slip  away  down 
river.  Assuming  that  no  accident  happened  and  that 
you  obeyed  orders,  you  should  have  been  here  on  the 


120  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  evening  of  the  16th,  or  on  the  17th  at  the  latest.  You 
June  24  ^j^  ^^^  amve  until  5  p.m.  on  the  22nd. 
amjuya  "  Wg  have  no  telegraphs  here,  or  posts.  As  we  could 
gain  no  intelligence  of  you,  my  anxiety  about  you 
created  doubts.  As  one  day  after  another  passed,  doubts 
became  actual  dread  that  something  unaccountable  had 
occurred.  Had  you  struck  a  snag,  run  aground,  like 
the  Stanley  and  Royal  did,  as  almost  all  steamers  do, 
had  you  been  assaulted  by  natives  in  the  night  like 
Captain  Deane  in  the  A. LA.  at  Bunga,  had  your 
Soudanese  mutinied  as  they  threatened  to  do  at  Lukungu, 
had  you  been  shot  as  a  Soudanese  regiment  shot  all 
their  white  officers  in  the  Soudan  once,  had  you  been 
detained  by  force  because  Tippu-Tib  had  been  over 
persuaded  to  do  by  those  young  fire-eaters  of  Arabs  at 
the  Falls,  had  you  quarrelled  with  those  young  fellows, 
the  two  Salims,  as  Stairs  and  Jephson  did  ])elow  Stanley 
Pool.  If  not,  what  had  occurred  ?  Could  I,  could 
anybody  suggest  anything  else  ?  " 

"  But  I  was  oljliged " 

"  Never  mind,  my  dear  Major,  say  no  more  about  it. 
Don't  think  of  defending  yourself  1  am  not  mentioning 
these  things  to  complain  of  you,  but  replying  to  your 
question.     All  is  well  that  ends  safely. 

"  Now  as  to  Tippu-Tib.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Tippu-Tib,  but  fi'om  necessity,  for  your  sake  as  well 
as  mine.  He  claims  this  as  his  territory.  We 
are  on  it  as  his  friends.  Supposing  we  had  not  made 
agreement  witli  him,  how  long  should  we  be  left  to 
prepare  for  the  march  to  tlic  Albert,  or  how  long  would 
you  Ije  permitted  to  icmniii  here,  before  you  had  to 
answer  the  (|nestioii  wliy  you  were  on  his  territory? 
(.'ould  I  possibly  leaxr  yon  licic,  with  my  knowledge  of 
what  they  are  capable  of  .ilone  :*  With  eighty  rifles 
against  proba1>lv  .'JOOO,  perli.ips  5000  guns?  Why, 
iMajoi',  I  am  .siiipiised  thai  yoii  who  have  seen  Stanley 
Falls,  and  some  hundreds  ot"  the  .Arabs  should  ask 
the  <|uest  ion  ? 

"  ^'ou  ha\-e  ac(<»m|ianied  Ti|»[MiTil>  and  nearly  a 
Innidred  ol  his  lollowers  from  Zanzibar.      You  have  seen 


June  24. 
Yambuya. 


CONVERSATION   WITH  MAJOR   BARTTELOT.  121 

what  boyish  delight  they  took  in  their  weapons,  their  issz 
Winchesters,  and  valuable  double-barrelled  rifles.  You 
know  the  story  of  Deane's  fight  at  Stanley  Falls.  You 
know  that  Tippu-Tib  is  vindictive,  that  his  fiery  nephews 
would  like  a  fight  better  than  peace.  You  know  that 
he  meditated  war  against  the  Congo  State,  and  that  I 
had  to  pass  on  a  relief  mission  through  a  portion  of  his 
territory.  Why  how  can  you — grown  to  the  rank  of 
Major — ask  such  questions,  or  doubt  the  why  and 
wherefore  of  acts  which  are  as  clear  as  daylight  ? 

"  Our  transport  the  Madura  was  in  Zanziljar  harbour. 
The  owner  of  this  district,  as  he  calls  himself,  was  pre- 
paring munitions  against  all  white  men  on  the  Congo, 
resenting  and  resentful.  Would  it  have  been  prudent 
for  me  to  have  left  this  man  in  such  a  state  ?  That  he 
prepared  for  war  against  the  State  did  not  materially 
affect  me,  but  that  he  intended  doing  so  while  I  had  to 
pass  through  his  territory,  and  in  his  neighbourhood  on 
a  humane  mission  was  everything.  Therefore  I  was  as 
much  interested  in  this  affair  of  patching  up  a  peace 
between  the  Congo  State  and  King  Leopold  as  His 
Majesty  himself  was,  and  more  so  indeed. 

"  And  I  suppose  you  will  ask  me  next  how  does  it 
affect  your  personal  interests  ?  Have  you  not  told  me 
over  and  over  again  that  you  are  burning  to  accom- 
pany us,  that  you  would  infinitely  prefer  marching  to 
waitinof  here  ?  And  is  it  not  understood — accordina; 
to  your  letter  of  instructions — that  fliiling  Tippu- 
Tib's  appearance  with  his  600  carriers,  you  are  to 
make  double-stages,  or  triple-stages  rather  than  stay  at 
Yambuya  ? 

"  Look  at  these  pencilled  calculations  on  this  paper — 
nay,  you  can  keep  it,  if  you  please.  They  represent 
what  you  can  do  with  your  own  men,  and  what  you  can 
do  assuming  that  Tippu-Tib  really  keeps  to  the  letter  of 
his  contract. 

"  Now  I  have  grounded  my  instructions  principally 
on  your  impetuous  answer  to  me  at  Bolobo.  '  By  Jove  ! 
I  will  not  stay  a  day  at  Yambuya  after  I  get  my  column 
together  1 ' 


Yambuva. 


122  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  "  See  here  !  The  letter  says — '  It  may  happen  that 
June  24.  Xippu-Tib  has  sent  some  men,  but  not  sent  enough  ; 
therefore,  you  know,  use  your  discretion  ;  dispense  with 
No.  7,  provisions,  such  as  rice,  beans,  peas,  millet, 
biscuits.  See  how  many  sacks  of  provisions  you  can 
issue  out  to  your  men — they  will  eat  them  fast  enough, 
I  warrant  you.' 

'  It  goes  on — '  If  you  still  cannot  march,  then  it 
would  be  better  to  make  marches  of  six  miles  twice  over 
—that  is,  to  go  one  march  of  six  miles,  and  then  return 
to  fetch  another  lot,  and  march  forward  again.  Such  as 
my  work  was  on  the  Congo,  when  with  68  men  I  made 
33  round  trips  on  the  stretch  of  52  miles  to  take  2000 
loads — 5  immense  waggons  and  make  a  waggon  road, 
building  bridges,  etc'  That  pencilled  paper  in  your 
hand  informs  you  how  many  miles  you  can  do  in  this 
fashion  in  six  months. 

"  But  this  is  how  my  pact  with  Tippu-Tib  affects  you 
personally.  If  Tippu-Tib  performs  his  contract  faith- 
fully, then  on  the  arrival  of  the  Stanley  with  Messrs. 
Ward,  Troup,  and  Bonny,  and  their  men,  you  can  set 
out  from  Yambuya  within  a  day  or  two,  and  perhaps 
overtake  us,  or  on  our  return  from  the  Albert  we  shall 
meet  before  many  days. 

"  Now  which  would  you  personally  prefer  doing  ? 
Travelling  ba(;k wards  and  forwards  from  c[imp  to  camp, 
twice,  or  perhajjs  thrice,  or  liave  Tippu-Tib  with  600 
carriers  to  help  your  200  carriers,  and  march  at  a  swing- 
ing pace  tlirougli  tlie  woods  on  our  track,  straight  for 
the  Albert  Nyanza  ?  " 

"  Oh,  there  is  not  a  doiiltt  of  it.  I  should  prefer 
man-hing  straiglit  away  and  tiy  and  calcli  up  with  you. 
Natui'ally." 

"  Well,  do  you  Ix'gin  to  understand  why  I  jiave  been 
sweet,  and  good,  and  bbcrnl  1o  Tipjju-Tib  ?  Why  I  have 
given  liini  IVcc  passage  and  board  for  liimself  and 
followers  IVmn  Zanzibar  to  Slanlcy  Kails?  Why  I  have 
shared  the  ki<l  and  the  lamb  willi  liiin  ?  " 

"  Quite." 

"Not    'juite   yet,    1    am    aliaid,  Major,  otherwise  you 


CONVERSATION   WITH  MA  JOB   BAttTTELOT.  123 

would  not  have   doubted  me.     There  is  still  a  serious     1887. 
reason.  ^""^^^^^'^ 

"  Assuming,  for  instance,  that  I  had  not  brought  ^"'  '"^''' 
Tippu-Tib  here,  that  the  Arabs  at  Stanley  Falls  were 
not  wrathy  with  white  men  for  Deane's  affair,  or  that 
they  would  fear  attacking  you.  They  had  but  to  affect 
friendship  with  you,  sell  you  goats  and  food,  and  then 
tell  your  Zanzibaris  that  their  settlement  was  but  six  or 
seven  days  away — where  they  had  plenty  of  rice  and 
fish  and  oil  to  tempt  three-fourths  of  your  men  to  desert 
in  a  few  days,  while  you  were  innocently  waiting  for  the 
Bolobo  contingent  ;  and  no  sooner  would  the  other 
fellows  have  reached  here  than  they  would  hear  of  the 
desertion  of  their  comrades  for  the  Falls,  and  follow  suit 
either  wholesale  or  by  twos  and  threes,  sixes  and  tens, 
until  you  would  have  been  left  stranded  completely.  Is 
it  not  the  fear  of  this  desertion  that  was  one  of  the 
reasons  I  chose  the  Congo  ?  Having  Tippu-Tib  as  my 
friend  and  engaged  to  me,  I  have  put  a  stop  to  the 
possibility  of  any  wholesale  desertion. 

"  Let  these  reasons  sink  into  your  mind,  Major,  my 
dear  fellow.  Yet  withal,  your  column  may  be  ruined  if 
you  are  not  very  careful.  Be  tender  and  patient  with 
your  people,  for  they  are  as  skittish  as  young  colts. 
Still,  it  was  with  these  people,  or  men  like  them,  that  I 
crossed  Africa — followed  the  course  of  the  Congo  to  the 
sea,  and  formed  the  Congo  State." 

"  Well,  now,  say  do  you  think  Tippu-Tib  will  keep 
his  contract,  and  bring  his  600  people  ?  "  asked  the  Major. 

"  You  ought  to  know  that  as  well  as  I  myself.  What 
did  he  say  to  you  before  you  left  him  ?  " 

"  He  said  he  would  be  here  in  nine  days,  as  he  told 
you  at  Bangala.  Inshallah  ! "  replied  the  Major, 
mimicking  the  Arab. 

"  If  Tippu-Tib  is  here  in  nine  days,  it  will  be  the 
biggest  wonder  I  have  met." 

"  AVhy  ?  "  asked   the  Major,  looking  up  half  wonder- 

"  Because  to  provide  600  carriers  is  a  large  order.  He 
will  not  be  here  in  fifteen  days  or  even  twenty  days.    We 


124  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  must  be  reasonable  with  the  man.  He  is  not  an  European 
June  24.  ^ — taught  to  be  rigidly  foithful  to  his  promise.  Inshallah  ! 
am  uya.  ^^^  .^  j^^  ^^^^  ^  To-morrow — lushallali  means  the  day 
after — or  five  days  hence,  or  ten  days.  But  what  does 
it  matter  to  you  if  he  does  not  come  within  twenty  days  ? 
The  Stanley  will  not  be  here  until  the  10th,  or  perhaps 
the  middle  of  Auoust  ;  that  will  be  al)out  seven  weeks — 
forty-two  days — hence.  He  has  abundance  of  time.  What 
do  you  want  to  look  after  600  men  in  your  camp  doing 
nothing,  waiting  for  the  steamer  ?  Idle  men  are 
mischievous.  No ;  wait  for  him  patiently  until  the 
Stanley  comes,  and  if  he  has  not  appeared  by  that  time 
he  will  not  come  at  all." 

"  But  it  will  be  a  severe  job  for  us  if  he  does  not 
appear  at  all,  to  carry  500  or  600  loads  with  200 
carriers,  to  and  fro,  backwards  and  forwards,  day  after 
day ! " 

"  Undoulitedly,  my  dear  ]\[ajor,  it  is  not  a  light 
task  by  any  means.  But  which  would  you  prefer  ;  stay 
here,  waiting  for  us  to  return  from  the  Albert,  or  to 
pro(ieed  little  by  little — gaining  something  each  day — ■ 
and  be  al)Sorbed  in  your  work  ?  " 

"Oh,  my  (}()(!!  1  tidnk  staying  here  for  months 
would  1)C  a  dcuceil  sight  the  worse." 

"  Exactly  what  I  think,  and,  therefore,  I  made  these 
calculations  for  yoii.  I  assure  you.  Major,  if  I  were 
siii'<'  lliat  you  could  fnul  your  way  to  the  Albert,  I  would 
not  iiiiiid  doing  tliis  work  of  yours  myself,  and  appoint 
yon  coininaiidcr  of  llic  advance  column,  rather  than 
have  any  anxici}'  about  yon." 

"  liut  tell  me,  i\Ii'.  Stanley,  liow  long  do  you  suppose 
it   will  lir  bcfoiu;  we.  meet  '^.  " 

"(iod  knows.  None  «an  inform  mo  what  lies  ahead 
Ik.'I'c,  or  how  far  flic  loicsl  extends  inland.  Whether 
there  ai-c  any  io;i(|s.or  what  kin<l  of  na  I  ives,  cannibals,  in- 
eoi'i-iiri|,l(.  sa\a<'('s.  <1  walls,  jjoiillas.  1  have,  not  the  least 
idea.  1  wish  I  had  ;  ami  would  give  a  handsome  sum 
for  the  knowledge  even.  Ilul  that  paper  in  your  hand,  on 
whie.li  T  have  calenlated  how  long  it  will  lake  me  to 
march  L(j  the  Albert   Nyaiiza,  is  based   on  this  fact.       In 


CONVERSATION    Wim  MAJOR    BARTTKLOT.  125 

1874  and  1875  I  travelled  720  miles  in  103  days.  The  i887. 
distance  from  here  to  the  Albert  Nyanza  is  alumt  330  •^""''' ^*- 
geographical  miles  in  a  straight  line.  Well,  in  1874-75,  '*'"  "^'*' 
I  travelled  330  geographical  miles — Bagamoyo  to 
Vinyata,  in  Ituru,  in  64  days  ;  from  Lake  Uhimba  to 
Ujiji,  330  miles,  in  54  days.  These  were,  of  course, 
open  countries,  witli  tolerably  fair  roads,  whereas  this 
is  absolutely  unknown.  Is  it  all  a  forest  ? — then  it  will 
be  an  awful  work.  How  far  does  the  forest  reach 
inland  ?  A  hundred — two  hundred — three  hundred 
miles  ?  There  is  no  answer.  Let  us  assume  we  can 
do  the  journey  to  the  Albert  in  three  months ;  that  I 
am  detained  a  fortnight,  and  that  I  am  back  in 
three  months  afterwards.  Well,  I  shall  meet  you  coming 
toward  me,  if  Tippu-Tib  is  not  with  you,  the  latter 
part  of  October  or  November.  It  is  all  down  on  that 
paper. 

"  But  it  is  immaterial.  The  thing  has  to  be  done. 
We  will  go  ahead,  we  will  blaze  the  trees,  and  mark  our 
track  through  the  forest  for  you.  We  will  avail  ourselves 
of  every  advantage — any  path  easterly  will  suit  me 
until  I  bore  through  and  through  it,  and  come  out  on 
the  plains  or  pastureland.  And  where  we  go,  you  can 
go.  If  we  can't  go  on,  you  will  hear  from  us  somehow. 
Are  you  now  satisfied  ?  " 

"  Perfectly,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  it  all  here,"  touching 
liis  forehead — "  and  this  paper  and  letter  will  be  my 
reminders.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to 
speak  about,  it  refers  to  something  you  said  to  me  in 
London." 

"  Ah,  indeed.  What  was  said  that  was  in  any  way 
peculiar  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Well  " — here  there  was  a  little  hesitation — "  do  you 
remember  when  Mr.  ,  of  the  India  Ofiice,  intro- 
duced me  to  you  ?  The  words  you  used  sounded 
strangely,  as  though  someone  had  been  warning  you 
against  me." 

"  My  dear  Barttelot,  take  my  word  for  it,  I  don't 
remember  to  have  heard  the  name  of  Barttelot  before  I 
heard  your  name.     But  you  interest  me.     What  could 


126  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     I  have  possibly  said  that  was  any  way  peculiar  to  cling 
June  2+.  ^Q  your  memorv  like  this  ?     I  remember  the  circum- 

Yambuya.      ,     ''  n  o  » 

•'     stance  well  ? 

"  The  fact  is,"  he  said,  "  you  said  something  about 
'  forbearance,'  which  reminded  me  that  I  had  heard  that 

word  before,  when  General pitched  into  me  about 

punishing  a  Somali  mutineer  in  the  desert  during  the 
Soudan  campaign.  I  was  all  alone  with  the  Somalis 
when  they  turned  on  me,  and  I  sprang  upon  the  ring- 
leader at  last  when  there  w^as  no  other  way  of  reducing 
them  to  order  and  pistolled  him,  and  at  once  the  Somalis 
became  quiet  as  laml)s.  I  thought  that  General  — — , 
who  is  not  remarkable  for  goodwill  to  me,  had  mentioned 
the  affair  to  you." 

"  Indeed,  I  never  heard  the  story  before,  and  I  do 

not  understand  how  General could  have   warned 

me,  considering  he  could  not  have  known  you  were 
going  to  apply  for  meml^ership.  It  was  your  own  face 
which  inspired  the  word  forbearance.  Your  friend 
introduced  you  to  me  as  a  distinguished  officer  full  of 
pluck  and  courage ;  upon  wliicli  I  said  that  those 
(jualities  were  common  cliaracteristics  of  British  officers, 
})ut  I  would  prefer  to  hear  of  another  quality  which 
would  be  of  equal  value  for  a  peculiar  service  in  Africa 
—and  that  was  forbearance.  You  will  excuse  me  now, 
I  liope,  for  saying  that  I  read  on  your  face  immense 
tlt'termination  and  sometliing  like  pugnacity.  Now,  a 
pugnacious  fellow,  lhouL;li  very  useful  at  times,  you 
know,  is  not  (juitc  so  useful  for  an  expedition  like  this — 
wliieh  is  to  work  in  an  atmospliei-e  of  irritability — as  a 
man  wlio  knows  not  onlv  how  and  when  to  fialit,  but 
also  how  to  forbear.  Why,  a  thousand  causes  provoke 
irritation  and  fiiilioii  here  between  himself  and  fellow- 
odieers,  his  own  Inllowcis  and  nati\'es,  and  frequently 
})etween  himself  and  his  own  person.  Here  is  bad  food 
always,  often  none  al  all,  a  inisei-ahie  diet  at  the  best,  no 
stimulant,  incessant  toil  and  woriy,  intense  discomfort, 
relaxed  muscles,  weariness  aniounliiiL'-  to  faintincf,  and, 
to  cap  all,  dreadful  racking  levers,  urging  one  to  curse 
the  day  he  ev(H*  thought-  of"  Africa.      A  pugnacious  man 


CONVERSATION    WITH  MAJOR   BARTTELOT.  127 

is  naturally  ill-tempered,   and  unless    he   restrains  his     1887. 
instincts,  and  can  control  his  impulses,   he   is   in   hot   "'""''  '^^' 
water  every  minute  of  his  existence,  and  will  find  cross    ^^  "^^' 
rubs  with    every  throb  of  his   heart.     To  be  able   to 
forbear,  to  keep  down  rigorously  all  bitter  feelings,  to 
let  the  thoughts  of  his  duty,  his  position,  plead  against 
the  indulgence  of  his  passions.     Ah,  that  quality,  while 
it   does   not    diminish    courage,  prevents  the  waste  of 
natural  force  ;  but  I  don't  wish  to  preach  to  you,  you 
know  what  I  mean. 

"  And  now  to  close — one  word  more  about  Tippu-Tib. 
Do  you  see  that  Maxim  out  there  with  its  gaping 
muzzle.  I  regard  Tippu-Tib  somewhat  as  I  do  that. 
It  is  an  excellent  weapon  for  defence.  A  stream  of 
bullets  can  be  poured  out  of  it,  but  it  may  get  jammed, 
and  its  mechanism  become  deranged  from  rust  or  want 
of  good  oil.  In  that  event  we  rely  on  our  Reming- 
tons, and  Winchester  Repeaters.  If  Tippu-Tib  is  dis- 
posed to  help  us — he  will  be  a  most  valuable  auxiliary 
— failure  becomes  impossible,  we  shall  complete  our  work 
admirably.  If  he  is  not  disposed,  then  we  must  do  what 
we  can  with  our  own  men,  and  goodwill  covers  a  multi- 
tude of  errors. 

"Do  you  remember  that  in  1876  Tippu-Tib  broke  his 
contract  with  me,  and  returned  to  Nyangwe,  leaving  me 
alone.  Well,  with  about  130  of  my  own  men,  I  drove  my 
way  down  the  Congo  despite  his  sneer.  You  said  you 
met  Dr.  Lenz,  the  Austrian  traveller,  at  Lamu,  after 
having  failed  to  reach  Emin  Pasha.  Why  did  he  fail  ? 
He  relied  on  Tippu-Tib  alone  ;  he  had  no  private  reserve 
of  force  to  fall  back  upon.  You  have  over  200  carriers 
and  50  soldiers,  besides  servants  and  efficient  companions. 
On  the  Congo  work  I  was  promised  a  contingent  of 
natives  to  assist  me.  Only  a  few  came,  and  those 
deserted  ;  but  I  had  a  faithful  reserve  of  sixty-eight  men 
— they  were  the  fellows  who  made  the  Congo  State. 
You  remember  my  letter  to  the  Times,  where  I  said, 
'  We  do  not  want  Tippu-Tib  to  assist  us  in  finding  Emin 
Pasha.  We  want  him  to  carry  ammunition,  and  on  his 
return  to  bring  away  ivory  to  help  pay  the  expenses  of 


128  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  the  Mission,'  Then,  as  a  last  proof  of  how  I  regard 
June  24.  Xippu-Tib,  do  not  forget  that  written  order  to  Lieu- 
am  uja.  ^gj-^j^j^^  Stairs  a  few  days  ago,  to  rake  his  settlsment 
with  the  machine  gun  upon  the  least  sign  of  treachery. 
You  have  read  that  letter.  You  ought  to  know  that  the 
gage  of  battle  is  not  thrown  in  the  face  of  a  trusted 
friend. 

"  Now,  Major,  my  dear  fellow,  don't  be  silly.  I  know 
you  feel  sore  because  you  are  not  to  go  with  us  in  the 
advance.  You  think  you  will  lose  some  kudos.  Not  a 
bit  of  it.  Ever  since  King  David,  those  who  remain 
with  the  stuff,  and  those  who  go  to  the  war,  receive  the 
same  honours.  Besides,  I  don't  like  the  word  '  kudos.' 
The  kudos  impulse  is  like  the  pop  of  a  ginger-beer 
bottle,  o-ood  for  a  V.C.  or  an  Albert  medal,  but  it 
effervesces  in  a  month  of  Africa.  It  is  a  damp  squib, 
Major.     Think  rather  of  Tennyson's  lines  :— 

"  Not  once  or  twice  in  our  fair  island  story 
Has  the  patli  of  duty  been  the  way  to  glory." 

There,  sliakc  hands  upon  this,  Major.  For  us  the  word 
is  '  Kiglit  Onward ' ;  for  you  '  Patience  and  ForbearaiK^e.' 
I  want  my  tea.      I  am  dry  with  talking." 

On  the  25th  the  stockade  was  completed  all  round 
the  (;amp,  tlie  ditch  was  approacliing  completion.  Bart- 
telot  supeiintended  the  works  on  one  side;  Jephson,  in 
sliirt-.sl('(!ves,  lookccl  over  another.  N('ls(m  was  dis- 
tributiiiLi:  t\\o.  Euro[)ean  ])rovisions  sliare  and  share 
alike;  our  |)()ctor,  cheery,  smiliiiu-,  .-iiixious  as  though  he 
were  at  a  sm'uical  operation,  was  coiistructino;  a  cfate, 
an<l  pci'fonncd  the  carpciitci's  operation  in  such  a  manner 
lli;it  I  wTolc  ill  iii\'  <li;ii\  ili.'il  cN-eiiiiig,  "  He  is  certainly 
one  of  till!  best  fellows  aiixc.  .lameson  was  busy  <*opy- 
inir  th(^,  lettei-  of  instruct  ions.  Stairs  was  in  bed  with 
a  seviU'e  billons  l'c\cr. 

A  Soudanese  soldier,  as  innocent  as  a  lamb  cropping 
swe(^t  oi'jiss  befoi'e  a  fo.x's  covert.,  ti'esj)asscd  for  tlie  sake 
of  loot  near  ii  ii;ili\c  \illii-_;c.  ;ind  was  speared  through 
the  abdomen.  It  is  tlic^  second  fatal  case  .resulting  from 
looting.      It  will  not  be  our  last.     Wc  place  a  Soudanese 


Yambuya. 


MEMORANDUM  FOR  OFFICERS  OF  ADVANCE  COLUMN.     129 

on  guard  ;  his  friend  comes  along,  exchanges  a  word  or  i887. 
two  with  him,  and  passes  on,  with  the  completest  un-  •'""" -•'^■ 
consciousness  of  danger  that  can  be  imagined.  If  not 
slain  outright,  he  returns  with  a  great  gash  in  his 
body  and  a  look  of  death  in  his  face.  The  Zanzibari  is 
set  to  labour  at  cutting  wood  or  collecting  manioc  ;  he 
presently  drops  his  task  utters  an  excuse  for  with- 
drawing for  a  moment — a  thought  glances  across  his 
vacuous  mind,  and  under  the  impulse  he  hastes  away, 
to  be  reported  by-and-by  as  missing. 

On  the  26th  I  drew  out  a  memorandum  for  the  officers 
of  the  Advance  Column,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
copy :— 

We  propose  to  commence  our  march  the  day  after  to-morrow,  the  28th 
of  June,  1887. 

The  distance  we  have  to  traverse  is  about  330  geographical  miles  in  an 
air  line — or  about  550  miles  English,  provided  we  do  not  find  a  path  more 
than  ordinarily  winding. 

If  we  make  an  average  of  ten  miles  per  day  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
reach  the  Albert  within  two  months. 

In  1871  my  Expedition  after  Livingstone  performed  360  English  miles 
in  54  days  =  about  62  miles  per  day. 

In  1874  my  Expedition  across  Africa,  performed  360  English  miles  in 
64  days,  viz. ,  from  Bagamoyo  to  Vinyata  =  5|  miles  per  ({ay. 

In  1874-75  tlie  same  Expedition  reached  Lake  Victoria  from  Bagamoyo, 
720  miles  distance  in  103  days  =  7  miles  per  day. 

In  1876  the  same  Expedition  traversed  360  miles,  the  distance  from 
Lake  Uhimba  to  Ujiji  in  59  days  =  6^^  miles  per  day. 

Therefore  if  we  travel  the  distance  to  Kavalli,  say  550  miles  at  an 
average  of  6  miles  per  day,  we  should  reach  Lake  Albert  about  the  last 
day  of  September. 

A  conception  of  the  character  of  more  than  half  of  the  country  to  be 
traversed  may  be  had  by  glancing  at  our  surroundings.  It  will  be  a 
bush  and  forested  country  with  a  native  path  more  or  less  crooked  con- 
necting the  various  settlements  of  the  tribes  dwelling  in  it. 

The  track  now  and  then  will  be  intersected  by  others  connecting  the 
tribes  north  of  our  route  and  those  south  of  it. 

The  natives  will  be  armed  with  shields,  spears  and  knives,  or  with  bows 
and  arrows. 

As  our  purpose  is  to  march  on  swiftly  through  the  country,  we  take  the 
natives  considerably  by  surprise.  They  cannot  confederate  or  meet  us  in 
any  force,  because  they  will  have  no  time.  Whatever  hostilities  we  may 
meet  will  be  the  outcome  of  impulse,  and  that  naturally  an  angry  one. 
OflBcers  must  therefore  be  prompt  to  resist  these  impulsive  attacks,  and 
should  at  all  times  now  see  that  their  Winchester  magazines  are  loaded, 
and  their  bearers  close  to  them.  Side  arms  should  not  be  dispensed  with 
on  any  account. 

The  order  of  the  march  will  be  as  follows : 

At  dawn  the  revetlh  will  sound  as  usual. 

First  by  the  Soudanese  trumpeter  attached  to  No.  1  Company. 

VOL.  L  3 


130 


IN  DARKEST  AFUICA. 


18»7. 
Juno  2G. 

i'ambuya. 


Second  l)y  the  bugle  attached  to  Captain  Stairs's  Company,  No.  2 — 
Captain  Stairs. 

Tliird  by  the  trumpeter  attached  to  the  No.  3  Company — Captain 
Nelson. 

Fourth  by  the  drummer  attached  to  Captain  Jephson's  No.  4  Company. 
Officers  will  feed  early  on  coflee  and  biscuit,  and  see  that  their  men 
are  also  strengthening  themselves  for  the  journey. 

At  6  A.M.  the  march  of  the  day  "will  begin,  led  by  a  band  of  50  pioneers 
armed  with  rifles,  bill-hooks  and  axes,  forming  the  advance  guard  under 
myself. 

The  main  body  will  tlien  follow  after  15  minutes,  led  by  an  officer 
whose  turn  it  is  to  be  at  the  head  of  it,  whose  duty  will  be  specially  to 
see  that  he  follows  the  route  indicated  by  "  blazing  "  or  otherwise. 

This  column  will  consist  of  all  bearers,  and  all  men  sick  or  well  who 
are  not  detailed  for  rear  guard.  The  major  part  of  three  companies  will 
form  the  column.  Close  to  the  rear  of  it,  keeping  well  up,  will  be  the 
officer  whose  turn  it  is  to  maintain  order  in  rear  of  the  main  body. 

The  rear  guard  will  consist  of  ciO  men  under  an  officer  selected  for  the 
day  to  protect  the  column  from  attacks  in  the  rear.  These  men  will  not 
be  loaded  with  anything  beyond  their  private  kits.  No  member  of  the 
Expedition  must  be  passed  by  the  rear  guard.  All  stragglers  must  be 
driven  on  at  all  costs,  because  the  ]3erson  left  behind  is  irretrievably  lost. 
At  the  head  of  the  main  body  will  be  the  head-quarter  tents  and  private 
luggage,  immediately  succeeding  the  officer  in  command.  This  officer 
will  also  have  to  be  on  the  alert  for  signals  by  trumpets,  to  communicate 
ihem  to  those  in  tlie  rear,  or  be  ready  to  receive  signals  from  the  front 
and  pass  the  word  behind. 

The  advance  guard  will  "  blaze  "  the  path  followed,  cut  down  obstruct- 
ing creepers,  and,  on  arrival  at  cam]i,  set  to  at  once  for  building  theboma 
or  bushfence.  As  fast  as  each  company  arrives  assistance  must  be  given 
tor  this  important  work  of  defence.     No  camp  is  to  be  considered  complete 

until  it  is  fenced  nround  by  bush 
or  trees.  Tliose  unemployed  in 
this  duty  will  erect  tents. 

The  boin  I  must  be  round  with 
two  gates  well  masked  by  at 
least  five  yards  of  bush. 

The  diameter  of  the  camp 
should  be  about  250  feet.  Tents 
and  baggage  ])ilod  in  the  centre, 
the  huts  will  range  around  an 
inner  circle  of  about  200  feet  in 
diameter. 

Tlie  above  relates  only  to  the 
oircnnistanccs     attending     the 
transit  of  a  caravan  tlirough  a 
dangerous  country,  unattended 
by  more  tlian  the  troubles  natu- 
rally arising  from  the  impulsive 
attacks  of  savages. 
Till'  pnlse  of  the  country  which  we  shall  traverse  will  be  felt  by  the 
advance  gnard,  of  course.     Jf  the  obstacles  in  the  front  are  serious,  and 
tin-eateii    to   bo  soiri<'lhing  more  than  a   meni   impulse,  or  temporary, 
messages  will  be  sent  to  the  main  body  announcing  their  character. 

Whfjrever  practical)le  we  sliall  camp  in  villages,  jf  \]\v  natives  have 
deserted  them,  lor  tlio  wik(!  of  obtaining  lood,  l)ut  such  villages  must  be 
rendered   defcnsivo  at  onco.     Ollicers  sliOuUI  rinifcmbor  that  it  is  in  the 


DIAOItAM    OF    Oni    FOUKST    rAMl'S. 


MEMORANnUM  FOR  OFFICERS  OF  ADVANCE  COLUMN.    131 

nature  of  their  black  soldiers,  Soudanese,  Somalis  or  Zanziliaris,  to  be      \,%%t, 
thoughtless  and  indifferent,  to  scatter  themselves  about  in  the  most  heed-    june  26. 
less  manner.     They  must  take  my  assurance  that  more  lives  are  lost  in  y     v, 
this  manner  than  by  open  warfare.     Therefore  their  men's  lives  1  consider     *  "    ^  ' 
are  in  the  hands  of  their  oificers,  and  the  officer  wlio  will  not  relax  his 
energy  and  rigid  enforcement  of  orders  until  everything  is  made  snug  and 
tight  for  the  night,  will  be  the  most  valuable  assistant  in  this  Expedition 
for  me.     Arriving  at  the  intended  halting  place  for  the  night,  if  a  village, 
the  officer  should  first  cast  his  eyes  about  for  lodgment  of  his  people ; 
select  such  as  will  bo  uniform  with  those  already  occupied  by  the  preceding 
company,  and  those  to  be  occupied  by  the  succeeding  company  or  com- 
panies ;  then  turn  to  and  destroy  all  those  lying  without  the  occupied 
circle,  or  use  their  timbers,  all  material  in  the  vicinity  to  defend  his 
quarters  from  night  attack  by  fire  or  sjiear.     A  cue  will  be  given  when 
and  how  to  do  things  by  the  conduct  of  the  advance  guard,  but  the 
officer  must  not  fail  to  ascertain  what  this  cue  is,  nor  wait  to  be  told 
every  petty  detail.     Ho  must  consider   himself  as  the  Father  of  his 
Company,  and  act  always  as  a  wise  leader  should  act. 

At  all  such  village  camps,  Lieutenant  Stairs  will  see  to  the  nightly 
guards  being  placed  at  the  more  accessible  points,  every  company  serving 
out  details  as  may  be  necessary. 

During  the  first  week  we  will  not  attemj^t  any  very  long  marches,  that 
the  people  and  ourselves  may  be  broken  in  gently,  but  after  a  fourth  of 
the  distance  has  been  made  the  marches  will  sensibly  lengthen,  and  I 
anticipate  that,  before  the  half  of  the  journey  has  been  performed,  we  shall 
be  callable  of  making  wonderful  progress. 

Further  memoranda  will  be  fui'uished  when  necessary. 

Yambuya.  (Signed)  Henry  M.  Stanley. 

June  26</(,  1887.  CommandiiKj  Expedition. 

I  close  this  chapter  with  a  quotation  from  my  diary- 
made  on  the  last  evening. 

"  Yambuya,  June  27th. — Our  men  claimed  a  holiday 
to-day  because  it  had  been  deferred  until  the  steamers 
were  despatched,  and  the  camp  was  fortified  for  the 
protection  of  the  garrison.  Numbers  of  things  had  also 
to  be  done.  Companies  had  to  be  re-organized,  since 
several  had  sickened  since  leaving  Bolobo,  the  weak  had 
to  be  picked  out,  and  the  four  companies  selected  for 
the  march  ought  to  be  in  as  perfect  condition  as  possible. 
Our  pioneer's  tools  required  numbering.  Out  of  one 
hundred  bill-hooks  there  were  only  twenty-six,  out  of 
one  hundred  axes  there  w^ere  left  twenty-two,  out  of  one 
hundred  hoes  there  were  only  sixty-one,  out  of  one 
hundred  shovels  there  were  but  sixty-seven.  All  the  rest 
had  been  stolen,  and  sold  to  the  natives  or  thrown  away. 
It  is  a  trying  work  to  look  after  such  reckless  people. 


132  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  '  Three  liundrecl  and  eighty-nine  souLs  will  marcli  to- 

June  27.   j-QQi-^Q^y — Qq(|  permitting — into  the  absolutely  unknown. 

am  uya.  ^^^^^  ^  native  I   have    heard    of  names  of   tribes,  or 

sections  of  tribes,  but  of  their  strength  or  disposition  I 

know  nothing. 

Yesterday  w^e  made  blood-brotherhood  with  one  of  the 
chiefs  of  Yambuya.  As  the  Major  was  Commandant  of 
the  post,  he  went  bravelv  through  the  ceremony,  which 
was  particularly  disgusting.  (Jn  the  flowing  blood  a 
pinch  of  dirty  salt  was  placed,  and  this  had  to  be  licked. 
The  chief  performed  his  part  as  though  he  loved  it.  The 
Major  looked  up  and  saw  the  cynical  faces  of  his  friends 
and  was  mortified. 

"  '  To  ensure  peace  ! ' 

"  '  Even  so,'  replied  the  Major,  and  sacrificed  his  taste. 

"  These  forest  natives  have  not  been  able  to  win  any 
great  regard  from  me  yet.  They  are  cowardly,  and  at 
the  same  time  vicious.  They  lie  oftener  than  any  open 
country  folk.  I  do  not  credit  any  statement  or  profes- 
sion made  by  them.  At  the  same  time  I  hope  that 
after  better  acquaintance  there  will  be  a  change.  This 
chief  received  a  liberal  gift  from  the  hand  of  the  Major, 
and  in  return  he  received  a  fortnight-old  chick  and  a 
feathered  bonnet  of  plaited  cane.  The  oft-promised 
goat  and  ten  fowls  had  not  yet  been  seen.  And  the 
blood  of  a  Soudanese  soldier  has  been  spilled,  and  we 
liave  not  avenged  it.  AVe  are  either  so  poor  in  spirit,  or 
so  indifferent  to  the  loss  of  a  man,  that  a  stalwart  soldier, 
wortli  1\vciit\-  (if  llicse  natives,  can  be  slain  unavenged. 
ISot  (Jiily  that,  hut  wc  cuti-cat  them  to  come  often  and 
visit  us,  for  thoy  have  lisli  ;iiid  goats,  fowls,  eggs,  and 
what  iiol  to  si'll  of  wliiili  \\v  Avoiild  Ix'  l)uvers.  This 
pci'linps  will  l;('  '»ii   tiif  Millie  weeks  more. 

It  is  j'jiiiiiiiL;-  to-iHLilit ,  ;iii(|  llie  uiori'ow's  march  will 
})(!  ;iii  iiiieoiiiriMlnMe  one.  Stjiii's  js  SO  siclv  that  he 
(;aiiii<)t  iiioNc,  ;iii(|  ye(  lie  IS  .•iiixioiis  to  accompany  us. 
It  is  I'litlier  iMsli  (<i  iiii(|ei(;ike  e;irr\iiig  a  man  in  his 
rondition,  tlioiii^li,  il  <le;iili  is  the  issue,  it- comes  as  easy 
in  1h(;  jungle  ;is  in  the  enini).  I  )r.  J'arkc  lias  made  me 
exceedingly  uncomfortable  by  saying  that  it  is  enteric 


DIVISION  OF  THE  liELIEF  EXPEDITION  AT  YAMBUYA.  133 


fever.     I  lean  to  bilious  fever.     We  shall  put  him  in  a 
hammock  and  trust  for  a  fevourable  issue." 
The  Advance  Force  will  consist  of : — 


1887. 
June  27. 

Yambuya. 


No.  1  company 

113  men 

and  boys 

99 

„   2 

»             ' 

.       90 

>f 

85 

»   3 

yf             • 

90 

it 

87 

„    4 

90 

» 

86 

Officers- 

-Self         ! 

» 

)> 

Stairs 

» 

u 

Nelson 

» 

» 

Jephson  . 

» 

» 

Parke 

» 

European  servant  . 

» 

389 


357 


The  garrison  of  Yambuya  consists  of  : — 


Soudanese     .         .         .         . 

.     4t  men 

44 

Zanzibaris     . 

.    71    „ 

38 

Barttelot's  servants 

.         .       3    „ 

Jameson's        „ 

•       2    „ 

Sowahis 

.       5    ., 

Sick  men 

.       'J    „ 

Earttelot  jDersonally 

.         .       1    „ 

3 

Jameson          „ 

.         .       1    „ 

2 

129 


87 


Contingent   at   Bolobo   to  be  joined    to  garrison  of 
Yambuya : — 

.     128  men  and  boys  52  rifles 

.         1 

1 

1 


Zanzibaris 
John  Rose  Troup 
Herbert  Ward 
William  Bonny 


131  men 


Advance  force    . 

Yambuya  garrison 
Bolobo,  Kinshassa,  &c. 


389  men 
129     „ 
131     „ 

G49     .. 


Loss    of   men   from   Zanzibar  to) 
Yambuya         .         .         .         .\ 


57 
706 


52     „ 

357  rifles 

87    „ 
_52    „ 

496    .. 


28 
524 


134  IN  DARKEST  AFBICA. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

TO      PANG  A      FALLS. 

An  African  road — Oar  mode  of  travpllinp;  through  the  forests — Farewell 
to  Jameson  and  the  ]\Iajor — 160  days  in  the  forest — The  Rapids  of 
Yambuya — Attacked  by  natives  of  Yankonde — Rest  at  the  village 
of  Bahunga — Dcscriiition  of  our  march  -  The  poisoned  Skewers — 
Capture  of  six  BabaU — Dr.  Parke  and  the  bees — A  tempest  in  the 
forest — Mr.  Jei)lison  puts  tlie  steel  boat  together — The  village  of 
Bukanda — Refuse  ]icai)s  of  llic  villages — The  Aruwimi  river  scenery 
— Villages  of  the  Bakuti  and  the  liakoka — The  Rapids  of  Gweng- 
were — The  boy  Bakula — Our  "  chop  and  coffee  " — The  islands  near 
Bandaiigi — Tlio  Babnru  dwarfs — Tlio  unknown  course  of  the  river 
— The  Somalis — Bartering  at  Mariri  and  Mui)c — The  Aruwimi  at 
Mupe — The  Babe  manners,  customs,  and  (Irtss — Jephson's  two 
adveiiturt'S— "Wasj)  Rajiids — The  chief  of  tlie  Bwamburi — Our  camp 
at  My-yui — Canoe  accident — An  abandoned  village — Arrival  at 
Panga  Falls — Description  of  the  Falls. 

1887.  An  African  road  o-cucrall}'  is  a  foot-track  tramped  by 
June  28.  ^j-j^^ygj  ^  excecdiiig  smoothness  and  hardness  as  of  asphalt 
when  the  season  is  dry.  It  is  only  twelve  inches  wide 
from  tlic  lial)it  of  the  natives  to  travel  in  sinaio  file  one 
aftci'  another.  When  such  a  track  is  old  it  resembles  a 
M-iniliii^i;  ami  sliallow  gutter,  the  centre  lias  been  trodden 
oftener  than  the  sides  --rain-water  has  rushed  alonir  and 
Bcoured  it  <>iit  somcwliat — the  sides  of  the  path  have  been 
raised  by  liunuis  and  dust,  the  fret  of  many  passengers 
have  brushed  twigs  and  stones  and  i)ressed  the  dust  aside. 
A  Ktraiglit  path  won  Id  be  shorter  than  the  usual  one 
formed  )>v  native  tras'el  Ity  a  thii'd  in  exciy  mile  on  an 
average.  'I'his  is  sonietliing  like  wliat  we  hoped  to  meet 
in  defiiiiig  out  of  llie  gate  of  the  intrenched  camp  at 
^'am})uya,  because  dnring  roui'])rece(lingKxpediti(msinto 
Afi'ica  we  liad  nevei-  (";iih'(l  to  ibUow  such  a  track  for 
hundreds  of  nnh'.  .  ^'.inihnya  consisted  of  a  series  of 
vilhigCH.      Tlieir  inhHliil;inls  must  liMve  ueiglibours  to  the 


Vambuya. 


AN  afhican  bo  ad. 


135 


Eastward  as  well  as  to  the  Southward  or  Westward.   Why 
not  ? 

We  marched  out  of  the  gate,  company  after  company 
in  single  file.  Each  with  its  flag,  its  trumpeter  or 
drummer,  each  with  its  detail  of  supernumeraries,  with 
fifty  picked  men  as  advance  guard  to  handle  the  billhook 
and  axe,  to  cut  saplings,  "blaze,"  or  peel  a  portion  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree  a  hand's-breadth,  to  sever  the  leaves  and 
slash  at  the  rattan,  to  remove  all  obtrusive  branches 
that  might  interfere  with  the  free  passage  of  the  hun- 


1887. 
June  28. 

Yam  buy  a 


MAKLHING    THKUUGH   THE   FOREST. 


dreds  of  loaded  porters,  to  cut  trees  to  lay  across  streams 
for  their  passage,  to  form  zeribas  or  bomas  of  bush  and 
branch  around  the  hutted  camp  at  the  end  of  the  day's 
travel.  The  advance  guard  are  to  find  a  path,  or,  if  none 
can  be  found,  to  choose  the  thinnest  portions  of  the 
jungle  and  tunnel  through  without  delay,  for  it  is  most 
fatiguing  to  stand  in  a  heated  atmosphere  with  a  weighty 
load  on  the  head.  If  no  thinner  jungle  can  be  found, 
then  through  anything,  however  impenetrable  it  may 
appear  ;  they  must  be  brisk — "  chap-chap  " — as  we  say,  or 
an  ominous  murmur  will  rise  from  the  impatient  carriers 


136  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  behind.  They  must  be  clever  and  intelligent  in  wood- 
juue  28.  ^^^^^  .  ^  greenhorn,  or  as  we  call  him  "  goee-goee,"  must 
Yambuya.  ^^^^  j^-^  i^jj^^.^^qq]^^  r^^^^  ^^ke  the  bale  or  box.  Three 
hundred  weary  fellows  are  not  to  be  trifled  with,  they 
must  be  brave  also — quick  to  repel  assault — arrows  are 
poisonous,  spears  are  deadly — their  eyes  must  be  quick 
to  search  the  gloom  and  shade,  with  sense  alert  to  recogni- 
tion, and  ready  to  act  on  the  moment.  Dawdlers  and 
goee-goees  are  unbearable ;  they  must  be  young,  lithe, 
springy — my  300  behind  me  have  no  regard  for  the 
ancient  or  the  corpulent — they  would  be  smothered  with 
chafi"  and  suffocated  with  banter.  Scores  of  voices  would 
cry  out,  "  Wherein  lies  this  fellow's  merit  ?  Is  it  all  in 
his  stomach  ?  Nay,  it  is  in  his  wooden  back — tut — his 
head  is  too  big  for  a  scout.  He  has  clearly  been  used  to 
hoeinof.  What  does  the  field  hand  want  on  the 
Continent  ?  You  may  see  he  is  only  a  Banian  slave  ! 
Nay,  he  is  only  a  Consul's  freed  man  1  Bosh  !  he  is  a 
mission  boy."  Their  bitter  tongues  pierce  like  swords 
through  the  armour  of  stupidity,  and  the  bill-hooks  with 
trenchant  edges  are  wielded  most  manfully,  and  the 
bright  keen  axes  flash  and  sever  the  saplings,  or  slice  a 
broad  strip  of  bark  from  a  tree,  and  the  bush  is  pierced, 
and  the  jungle  gapes  open,  and  fast  on  their  heels  con- 
tinuously close  presses  t\\Q.  mile-long  caravan. 

This  is  to  be  the  order,  and  this  the  method  of  the 
march,  and  I  have  stood  observing  the  files  pass  by  until 
the  last  of  tlic  rear  guard  is  out  of  the  camp,  and  the 
]\Ia)(n'  and  Jameson  and  the  garrison  next  crowd  out  to 
exchange  the  farewell. 

"  Now,  iMajor,  my  dear  fellow,  we  are  in  for  it.  Neck 
or  nothing  !  Remember  your  piomise  and  we  shall  meet 
before  many  months." 

*'  I  vow  to  goodness.  I  shall  be.  after  you  sharp.  Let 
mc  once  get  those  fellows  from  J)olol)o  and  nothing  shall 
stop  mc." 

"Well,  ihcii,  (lod  bless  you — keep  a  stout  heart — and 
Jameson— old  man — llie  same  to  you." 

Captain  Nelson,  who  heard  all  this,  st(i])[)ed  up  in  his 
turn  to  take  u  parting  grasp,   and   I   strode  on   to   the 


ORDER    WHILE  MARCHING    THROUGH  THE  FOREST.      137 

front,  while  the  Captain  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the     i887. 
rear  guard.  ^^^^  ^^• 

The  column  had  halted  at  the  end  of  the  villages  or    "™  "^^ 
rather   the  road  that  Nelson   the  other   day  had  com- 
menced. 

"  Which  is  the  way,  guide  ?  "  I  asked  to  probably 
the  proudest  soul  in  the  column — for  it  is  a  most 
exalted  position  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  line.  He  was 
in  a  Greekish  costume  with  a  Greekish  helmet  a  la 
Achilles. 


THE   KIKANGOZI,    OR    FOREMOST    MAN. 


"  This,  running  towards  the  sunrise,"  he  replied. 

"  How  many  hours  to  the  next  village  ?  " 

"  God  alone  knows,"  he  answered. 

"  Know  ye  not  one  village  or  country  beyond  here  ?" 

"  Not  one  ;  how  should  I  ?  "  he  asked. 

This  amounted  to  what  the  wisest  of  us  knew. 

"  Well,  then,  set  on  in  the  name  of  God,  and  God  be 
ever  with  us.  Cling  to  any  track  that  leads  by  the  river 
until  we  find  a  road." 

"  Bismillah  !"  echoed  the  pioneers,  the  Nubian  trumpets 


188  m  DA n REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  blew  tlie  signal  of  "  move  on,"  and  shortly  the  head  of 
June  28.  ^-|^g  column  disappeared  into  the  thick  bush  beyond  the 
am  uya.  y^jjjQg^  bounds  of  the  clearings  of  Yambuya. 

This  was  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  and  until  the  5th 
of  December,  for  160  days,  we  marched  through  the 
forest,  bush  and  jungle,  without  ever  having  seen  a  bit 
of  greensward  of  the  size  of  a  cottage  chamber  floor. 
Nothing  but  miles  and  miles,  endless  miles  of  forest,  in 
various  stages  of  growth  and  various  degrees  of  altitude, 
according  to  the  ages  of  the  trees,  with  varying  thickness 
of  undergrowth  accordino-  to  the  character  of  the  trees 
which  aftbrded  thicker  or  slighter  shade.  It  is  to  the 
description  of  the  march  through  this  forest  and  to  its 
strange  incidents  I  propose  to  confine  myself  for  the  next 
few  chapters,  as  it  is  an  absolutely  unknown  region 
opened  to  the  gaze  and  knowledge  of  civilized  man  for 
the  first  time  since  the  waters  disappeared  and  were 
gathered  into  the  seas,  and  the  earth  became  dry  land. 
Beseeching  the  reader's  patience,  I  promise  to  be  as  little 
tedious  as  possible,  though  there  is  no  other  manuscript 
or  missal,  printed  book  or  pamphlet,  this  spring  of  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1890,  that  contains  any  account  of  this 
refijion  of  horrors  other  than  this  book  of  mine. 

With  the  temperature  of  8G  in  the  shade  we  travelled 
along  a  path  very  infrequently  employed,  which  wound 
under  dark  depths  of  bush.  It  was  a  slow  process, 
interrupted  every  few  minutes  by  the  tangle.  The 
hill-liooks  and  axes,  plied  l)y  fifty  men,  were  constantly 
in  requisition  ;  the  creepers  were  slashed  remorselessly, 
Icngtlis  of  track  one  hundred  yards  or  so  were  as  fair 
as  similar  extents  were  difHcult. 

At  n<»()ii  we.  ]()()l<cd  iniiiiil  llic  elbow  of  tlic  Aruwimi, 
wliieh  is  in  view  of  "iaiiibiiya,  and  saw  above,  about 
four  miles,  anothei' ]'a])id  with  its  glancing  waters  as  it 
vvav(!d  in  I'ollfis  in  tlic  .sunsliiuf  ;  I  lie  rapids  of  Yambuya 
W(!i'e  a  little  below  us.  lieneath  the  upper  ra2)ids  quite 
a  il(!(!t  of  canoes  hovered  about  it.  Tliere  was  much 
movement  and  stir,  owiuL:,  of  course,  to  the  alarm  that 
the  Yanibuyas  had  eoininuniealcd  to  their  neighbours. 
At  4  P.M.  we  obsci'ved  that  the  point  we  had  gazed  at 


ATTACKED   BY  NATIVES    OF   TANKONDE.  139 

abreast  of  the  rapids  consisted  of  islands.  These  were  i887. 
now  beinsf  crowded  with  the  women  and  children  of  ^"'"r  ^f; 
Yankonde,  whom  as  yet  we  had  not  seen.  About  a 
hundred  canoes  formed  in  the  stream  crowded  with 
native  warriors,  and  followed  the  movements  of  the 
column  as  it  appeared  and  disappeared  in  the  light  and 
into  the  shadows,  jeering,  mocking,  and  teasing. 

The  head  of  the  column  arrived  at  the  foot  of  a  broad 
cleared  road,  twenty  feet  wide  and  three  hundred  yards 
long,  and  at  the  further  end  probably  three  hundred 
natives  of  the  town  of  Yankonde  stood  gesticulating, 
shouting,  with  drawn  bows  in  their  hands.  In  all  my 
experience  of  Africa  I  had  seen  nothing  of  this  kind. 
The  pioneers  halted,  reflecting,  and  remarking  somewhat 
after  this  manner  :  "  What  does  this  mean  ?  The 
pagans  have  carved  a  broad  highway  out  of  the  bush 
to  their  town  for  us,  and  yet  there  they  are  at  the  other 
end,  ready  for  a  fight !  It  is  a  trap,  lads,  of  some  kind, 
so  look  sharp." 

With  the  bush  they  had  cut  they  had  banked  and 
blocked  all  passage  to  the  forest  on  either  side  of  the 
road  for  some  distance.  But,  with  fifty  pairs  of  sharp 
eyes  searching  around  above  and  below,  we  were  not 
long  in  finding  that  this  apparent  highway  through  the 
bush  bristled  with  skewers  six  inches  long  sharpened  at 
both  ends,  which  were  driven  into  the  ground  half  their 
length,  and  slightly  covered  with  green  leaves  so  care- 
lessly thrown  over  them  that  we  had  thought  at  first 
these  strewn  leaves  were  simply  the  effect  of  clearing  bush. 

Forming  two  lines  of  twelve  men  across  the  road,  the 
first  line  was  ordered  to  pick  out  the  skewers,  the 
second  line  was  ordered  to  cover  the  workers  with  their 
weapons,  and  at  the  first  arrow  shower  to  fire.  A 
dozen  scouts  were  sent  on  either  flank  of  the  road 
to  make  their  way  into  the  village  through  the  woods. 
AVe  had  scarcely  advanced  twenty  yards  along  the 
cleared  way  before  volumes  of  smoke  broke  out  of  the 
town,  and  a  little  cloud  of  arrows  came  towards  us,  but 
falling  short.  A  volley  was  returned,  the  skewers 
were  fast  being  picked  out,  and  an  advance  was  steadily 


140  7JV  DAB K EST  AFRICA. 

1887.  made  until  we  readied  the  village  at  the  same  time 
June  28.  ^^^^  ^^^  scouts  lushed  out  of  the  underwood,  and  as 
all  the  pioneers  were  pushed  forward  the  firing  was 
pretty  lively,  under  cover  of  which  the  caravan  pressed 
through  the  burning  town  to  a  village  at  its  eastern 
extremity,  as  yet  unfired. 

Along  the  river  the  firing  was  more  deadly.  The 
very  noise  was  sufficient  to  frighten  a  foe  so  prone  as 
savages  to  rely  on  the  terrors  of  sound,  but  unfortu- 
nately the  noise  was  as  hurtful  as  it  w^as  alarming. 
Very  many,  I  fear,  paid  the  penalty  of  the  foolish 
challenge.  The  blame  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
Yambuyas,  who  must  have  invented  fables  of  the 
most  astounding  character  to  cause  their  neighbours 
to  attempt  stopping  a  force  of  nearly  four  hundred 
rifles. 

It  was  nearly  9  p.m.  before  the  rear-guard  entered 
camp.  Throughout  the  night  the  usual  tactics  were 
resorted  to  by  the  savages  to  create  alarm  and  disturb- 
ance, such  as  vertically  dropping  assegais  and  arrows 
heavily  tipped  with  poison,  with  sudden  cries,  whoops, 
howls,  menaces,  simultaneous  blasts  of  horn-blowing 
from  different  quarters,  as  though  a  general  attack  was 
about  to  be  made.  Strangers  unacquainted  with  the 
craftiness  of  these  forest  satyrs  might  be  pardoned  for 
imagining  that  daylight  only  was  required  for  our  com- 
plete extermination.  Some  of  these  tactics  I  knew 
before  in  younger  days,  l)ut  there  was  still  something 
to  be  gleaned  from  tlie  craft  of  these  pure  pagans. 
The  camp  was  surrounded  V)y  sentries,  and  the  only 
orders  given  wcrti  to  keep  strict  silence  and  sharpen 
their  eyesiglit. 

In  the  morning  a  narrow  escape  was  reported.  A 
man  lia*!  waken('<l  to  find  a  spear  buried  in  the  earth, 
penetrating  his  sleej:)ing  doth  and  mat  on  each  side 
of  him,  sliglitly  ])inning  liini  to  liis  l)edding.  Two  were 
slightly  wonndcd  willi  ai'i'ows. 

We.  \vand('r('(l  alioiil  Joi-  Icn  niiimlcs  or  so  lookinof 
for  a  I  lack  next  l^o|•llin^^  and  ai  last  discovered  one 
leading  tlirongh  a  vast  sqnaic;   mileage  of  manioc  fields, 


DESCRIPTION   OF   OUR   MARCH  FROM    YANKONDE.       141 

and  at  the  little  village  of  Bahunga,  four  miles  S.E.  of     1887. 
Yankonde,  we  gladly  rested,  our  object  being  not  to   ^"""^  ^^; 
rush  at  first  setting  out  after  a  long  river  voyage,  but 
to   accustom   the   people   little   by  little   to   the   long 
journey  before  them. 

On  the  30th  we  lit  on  a  path  which  connected  a 
series  of  fourteen  villages,  each  separate  and  in  line, 
surrounded  by  their  respective  fields,  luxuriant  with 
crops  of  manioc,  or,  as  some  call  it,  the  cassava.  We 
did  not  fail  to  observe,  however,  that  some  disaster 
had  occurred  many  months  before,  judging  from  the 
traces.  The  villages  we  passed  through  were  mostly 
newly  built,  in  the  sharp,  conical — candle-extinguisher 
— ^or  rather  four-angled  spiry  type ;  burnt  poles,  ruins 
of  the  former  villages,  marked  the  sites  of  former 
dwellings.  Here  and  there  were  blazings  on  trees, 
and  then  I  knew  that  Arabs  and  Manyuema  must  have 
visited  here — probably  Tippu-Tib's  brother. 

The  following  day  our  march  was  through  a  similar 
series  of  villages,  twelve  in  number,  with  a  common, 
well-trodden  track  running  from  one  to  another.  In 
this  distance  sections  of  the  primeval  forest  separated 
each  village ;  along  the  track  were  pitfalls  for  some  kind 
of  large  forest  game,  or  bow-traps  fixed  for  small  animals, 
such  as  rabbits,  squirrels,  rats,  small  monkeys.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  each  village  the  skewers  were  plentiful 
in  the  ground,  but  as  yet  no  hurt  had  been  received 
from  them. 

Another  serious  inconvenience  of  forest  travel  was 
experienced  on  this  day.  Every  fifty  yards  or  so  a  great 
tree,  its  diameter  breast  high,  lay  prostrate  across  the 
path  over  which  the  donkeys  had  to  be  assisted  with  a 
frequency  that  was  becoming  decidedly  annoying. 
Between  twenty  and  fifty  of  these  had  to  be  climbed 
over  by  hundreds  of  men,  not  all  of  whom  were  equally 
expert  at  this  novel  travelling,  and  these  obstructions  by 
the  delays  thus  occasioned  began  to  be  complained  of  as 
very  serious  impediments.  The  main  approaches  to  the 
many  villages  were  studded  with  these  poisoned  skewers, 
which  made  every  one  except  the  booted  w^hites   tread 


142  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  most  gingerly.  Nor  could  the  Europeans  be  altogether 
July  1.  indifferent,  for,  slightly  leaning,  the  skewer  was  quite 
capable  of  piercing  the  thickest  boot-leather  and  burying 
the  splinters  of  its  head  deep  in  the  foot — an  agony  of 
so  dreadful  a  nature  that  was  worth  the  trouble  of 
guarding  against. 

At  3  P.M.  w^e  camped  near  some  pools  overhung  by 
water  lilies  far  removed  from  a  village,  having  had  three 
wounded  durino-  the  traverse  throuo;li  the  settlements.   - 

This  morning,  about  three  hours  before  dawai,  the  camp 
was  wakened  by  howls,  and  loud  and  continued  horn- 
blowing.  These  were  shortly  after  hushed,  and  the 
voices  of  two  men  were  heard  so  clear  and  distinct  that 
many  like  myself  attempted  to  pierce  the  intense  dark- 
ness in  the  vain  effort  to  see  these  midnight  orators. 

The  first  Speaker  said,  "  Hey,  strangers,  where  are  you 
gomg  f 

The  Parasite  echoed,   "  AVhere  are  you  going?" 

Speaker.     This  country  has  no  welcome  for  you. 

Parasite,  No  welcome  for  you. 

Speaker.     All  men  will  be  against  you. 

Parasite.  Against  you. 

Speaker.     And  you  will  l)c  surely  slain. 

Parasite.  Surely  slain. 

Speaker.      Ali-ali-ali-ah-ali-aah. 

Parasite.    Ah-ah-aaah. 

Speaker.      Ooh-ooli-ooh-ooli-ooooli. 

Parasite.     Ooh-(  x  >!  i  -  oo( «  x  x  )h. 

'I'liis  parasite  was  sucli  a  palpable  parasite,  with  such 
a  sense  of  humour-  -tliat  it  I'aiscd  sudi  a  chorus  of 
laugliter  so  suihlcii,  startling,  and  abrupt,  that  scared 
speaker  and  j)arasitc  away  in  precipitate  haste. 

At  dawn  of  llic.  2ii(l,  feeling  somewhat  uneasy  at  the 
fact  that  tlic  track  wliidi  ln-ouglit  us  to  these  pools  was 
not  iiKuIe  I)}'  man  Iml  b\'  dcplianls,  and  feeling  certain 
tliat  the  jK'opKi  Jiad  made  no  pioxision  of  food  l)cyond 
the  day,  J  scn(.  'JOO  men  hack  lo  tlic  villages  to  procure 
each  a  loa<l  ol  iii;inioc.  By  1lic  mannci-  these  men  per- 
fonne<l  this  duly,  (lif,  icHcction  came,  into  my  mind  that 
they  hud  little  or  no  reasoning  faculties,  and  that  not  a 


Y^ankonde 


T)R.    PARKE   AND    THE   BEES.  143 

half  of  the  389  people  then  in  the  camp  would  emerge  i887. 
out  of  Africa.  They  were  now  brimful  of  life  antl  ^"^"'^'  ^* 
vitality — their  rifles  were  perfect,  their  accoutrements 
were  new,  and  each  possessed  10  rounds  of  cartridges. 
With  a  little  care  for  their  own  selves  and  a  small  por- 
tion of  prudence,  there  was  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  nearly  all  emerge  safe  and  sound,  but  they  w^ere  so 
crude,  stolid,  unreasoning,  that  orders  and  instructions 
were  unheeded,  except  when  under  actual  supervision, 
and,  to  supervise  them  effectually,  I  should  require  100 
English  officers  of  similar  intelligence  and  devotion  to 
the  four  then  with  me.  In  the  meantime  they  will  lose 
their  lives  for  trifles  which  a  little  sense  would  avoid, 
and  until  some  frightful  calamity  overtakes  them  I  shall 
never  be  able  thoroughly  to  impress  on  their  minds  that 
to  lose  life  foolishly  is  a  crime. 

A  party  of  scouts  were  also  sent  ahead  along  the  track 
to  observe  its  general  direction,  and,  about  the  same  time 
that  the  foragers  returned,  the  scouts  returned,  having 
captured  six  natives  in  the  forest.  They  belonged  to  a 
tribe  called  the  Babali,  and  were  of  a  light  chocolate  in 
hue,  and  were  found  forming  traps  for  game. 

As  we  endeavoured  to  draw  from  them  some  informa- 
tion respecting  the  country  to  which  the  track  led,  they 
said,  "  We  have  but  one  heart.  Don't  you  have  two," 
which  meant,  Do  not  speak  so  fairly  to  us  if  you  mean 
any  harm  to  us,  and  like  all  natives  they  asserted 
strongly  that  they  did  not  eat  human  meat,  but  that  the 
custom  was  practised  by  the  Babanda,  Babali,  Babukwa 
tribes,  occupying  the  bank  of  the  Aruwimi  above  Yan- 
konde. 

Soon  after  this  interview  with  the  natives.  Dr.  Parke, 
observing  the  bees  which  fluttered  about,  had  mentioned 
to  one  of  his  brother  officers  that  he  did  not  think  they 
stung  at  all,  upon  which  at  the  same  moment  a  vicious 
bee  settling  in  his  neck  drove  its  sting  into  it  to  punish 
him  for  his  scornful  libel.  He  then  came  to  me  and 
reported  the  fact  as  a  good  joke,  whereupon  a  second  bee 
attacked  and  "wounded  him  almost  in  the  same  spot, 
drawing  from  him  an  exclamation  of  pain.      "  By  Jove  ! 


144  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     but  they  do  sting  awfully,  tliougli."     "  Just  so,"  said  I ; 

"z'  ^^    "  nothing  like  experience  to  stimulate  reason." 

After  distributing  the  manioc,  with  an  injunction  to 
boil  the  roots  three  times  in  different  waters,  we 
resumed  the  march  at  1  p.m.  and  camped  at  4  o'clock. 

The  next  day  left  the  track  and  struck  through  the 
huge  towering  forest  and  jungly  undergrowth  by  compass. 
My  position  in  this  column  was  tlie  third  from  the 
leader,  so  that  I  could  direct  the  course.  In  order  to 
keep  a  steady  movement,  even  if  slow,  I  had  to  instruct 
the  cutters  that  each  man  as  he  walked  should  choose 
an  obstructing  lliane,  or  obtrusive  branch  of  bush,  and 
give  one  sharp  cut  and  pass  on — the  two  head  men  were 
confinino-  themselves  to  an  effective  and  broad  "  blaze  " 
on  the  trees,  every  ten  yards  or  so,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
column,  and,  as  the  rear  party  would  not  follow  us 
for  perhaps  two  months,  we  were  very  particular  that 
these  "  blazes  "  should  be  quite  a  hand's-breadth  peel  of 
bark. 

Naturally  penetrating  a  trackless  wild  for  the  first 
time  the  march  was  at  a  funereal  pace,  in  some  places  at 
the  rate  of  400  yards  an  hour,  in  other  more  open 
portions,  that  is  of  less  undergrowth,  we  could  travel 
at  the  rate  of  half,  three-quarters,  and  even  a  mile  per 
hour— -so  that  from  G.30  A.'si.  to  11  a.m.  Avhen  w^e  halted 
for  lunch  and  rest,  and  from  12.30  P.M.,  to  3  o'clock  or 
4  P.M.  in  from  six  to  seven  hours  j)cr  day,  we  could 
make  a  march  of  al)out  five  miles.  On  the  usual  African 
track  seen  in  other  regions  we  could  have  gone  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen  miles  during  the  same  time. 
Therefore  our  object  was  to  keep  by  settlements,  not 
only  to  be  assured  nl.'  Jood,  but  in  the  hope  of  utilizing 
the  native  roads.     AVc  sliall  see  later  how  we  fared. 

At  4  P.M.  of  tliis  day  we  were  still  on  the  march, 
Laving  passed  tlirougli  a  wilderness  of  creeks,  mud,  thick 
Bcum-faccd  quagmires  ureeii  willi  diiekweed  into  which 
we  sank  knt^e-deep,  and  the  sieiieh  exhaled  from  the 
fetid  s1ouij;h  was  most  sickening.  A\  e  had  just  emerged 
oiil  (»f"  t  his  l)aiiernl  sirelcli  of  marshy  ground,  intersected 
by  la/y  creeks  and  .sliallow  long  stream-shaped   pools^ 


A    TEMPEST  IN   THE   FOB  EST.  145 

when  the  forest  became  suddenly  darkened,  so  dark  irhi. 
that  I  could  scarcely  read  the  compass,  and  a  distant  ^"'-^  ^" 
murmur  increasing  into  loud  soughing  and  wrestling  and 
tossing  of  branches  and  groaning  of  mighty  trees 
warned  us  of  the  approach  of  a  tempest.  As  the 
ground  round  about  was  most  uninviting,  we  had  to 
press  on  through  the  increasing  gloom,  and  then,  as  the 
rain  began  to  drip,  we  commenced  to  form  camp.  The 
tents  were  hastily  pitched  over  the  short  scrubby  bush, 
while  bill-hooks  crashed  and  axes  rang,  clearing  a 
space  for  the  camp.  The  rain  was  cold  and  heavily 
dripped,  and  every  drop,  large  as  a  dollar  on  their 
cotton  clothes,  sent  a  shiver  through  the  men.  The 
thunder  roared  above,  the  lightning  flashed  a  vivid 
light  of  fire  through  the  darkness,  and  still  the  weary 
hungry  caravan  filed  in  until  9  o'clock.  The  rain  was 
so  heavy  that  fires  could  not  be  lit,  and  until  three  in 
the  morninof  we  sat  huddled  and  crouching  amid  the 
cold,  damp,  and  reeking  exhalations  and  minute  spray. 
Then  bonfires  were  kindled,  and  around  these  scores  of 
flaming  pyramids  the  people  sat,  to  be  warmed  into 
hilarious  animation,  to  roast  the  bitter  manioc,  and  to 
still  the  gnawing  pain  of  their  stomachs. 

On  the  4th  we  struck  N.  by  E.,  and  in  an  hour 
heard  natives  singing:  in  concert  afar  off".  AVe  sent 
scouts  ahead  to  ascertain  what  it  meant.  We  presently 
heard  firing  which  seemed  to  approach  nearer.  We 
mustered  the  men  in  the  nearest  company,  stacked 
goods  and  deployed  them  as  skirmishers.  Then  mes- 
sengers came  and  reported  that  the  scouts  had  struck 
the  river,  and,  as  they  were  looking  upon  it,  a  canoe 
advanced  into  view  with  its  crew  standina;  with  drawn 
bows  and  fixed  arrows,  which  were  flown  at  them  at 
once,  and  compelled  the  scouts  to  fire.  We  then 
resumed  the  march,  and  at  8  A.M.  we  were  on  the  river 
again,  in  time  to  see  a  line  of  native  canoes  disappearing 
round  a  bend  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  one  canoe 
abandoned  tied  to  the  bank  with  a  goat. 

Observing  that  the  river  was  calm  and  free  from 
rapids,  and  desirous  of  saving  the  people  from  as  much 

VOL.  I.  K. 


July  4, 
Yankonde, 


14G  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  labour  as  circumstances  would  offer,  the  steel  boat 
sections  were  brouglit  up  to  the  bank,  and  Mr.  Jephson, 
wdiose  conijjany  had  special  charge  of  the  Advance, 
commenced  to  fit  the  sections  together.  In  an  hour 
the  forty-four  burdens,  which  the  vessel  formed,  had 
been  attached  together  and  fitted  to  their  respective 
places  and  launched.  As  the  boat  weighed  forty-four 
loads  and  had  a  capacity  of  fifty  loads,  and  at  least  ten 
sick,  we  could  then  release  ninety-eight  people  from  the 
fatigue  of  bearing  loads  and  carrying  Lieutenant  Stairs, 
who  was  still  very  ill.  Mr.  Jephson  and  crew  were 
despatched  across  river  and  the  goat  secured. 

As  the  Advance  was  in  the  river,  it  was  necessary 
for  the  column  to  cling  to  the  bank,  not  only  for  the 
protection  of  tlie  boat,  but  to  be  able  to  utilize  the 
stream  for  lessening  labour.  Want  of  regular  food, 
lack  of  variety,  and  its  poor  nutritive  qualities,  coupled 
with  the  urgency  which  drove  us  on,  recjuiring  long 
marches  and  their  resulting  fatigue,  would  soon  diminish 
tlie  strength  of  the  stoutest.  A  due  regard  for  the 
people  therefore  must  be  shown,  and  every  means 
availa])le  for  their  assistance  must  be  employed.  There- 
fore, the  boat  keeping  pace  with  the  column,  we 
travelled  up-stream  until  3  P.M.  and  camped. 

On  tlic  5th  the  boat  and  column  moved  up,  as  on 
tlie  day  previous,  and  made  six-and-half  miles.  The 
ri\('r  continued  to  be  from  .500  to  800  yards  wide.  The 
bank  was  a  ti'iHe  inore  open  than  in  tlie  interior, 
tliough  frequently  it  was  impossible  to  move  before 
an  ijn})('iH'tral)le  mass  of  jungle  liad  l)een  tunnelled  to 
allow  our  ])assage  under  the  vault  of  close  network  of 
brancli  ;iii<l  <'limber,  cane,  and  reed  above.  At  2.30  we 
reached  tlic  \illa'jc  of  l)iiknii(la.  We  had  come  across 
no  ti-ark,  l)iit  had  .siiupK'  biii'sl  out  of  the  bush  and  a 
soiiiculiat  N'oiiii!/  forest  witli  a  dearino:.  -  In  the  middle 
of  the  clearing  by  11m'  ii\ci'  side  was  the  village.  This 
fact  mad(;  iih'  lliiiik,  aiMl  il  sii'j<_;cslcd  tliat  if  tracks  were 
not  discovei-alih'  by  land,  and  as  the  people  were  not 
known  to  poss(;ss  the  jtowcr  ol"  aerial  locomotion,  that 
conminnication  was  niainlained  l)y  water, 


Bukanda. 


THE    VILLAGE    OF    THE  BUKANDA.  149 

We  had  reason  to  rejoice  at  the  discovery  of  a  village,     i887. 
for  since  the  2nd  the  caravan  subsisted  on  such  tubers    "^"'^  ^• 
of  manioc  as  each    man  took  with   him  on  that  date. 
Had    another    day    passed    without    meeting   with    a 
clearing  we  sliould  have  suffered  from  hunger. 

It  was  evening  before  the  boat  appeared,  the  passage  of 
rapids  and  an  adventure  wdth  a  flotilla  of  eleven  canoes 
had  detained  her.  The  canoes  had  been  abandoned  in 
consequence,  and  the  commander  of  the  boat  had  secured 
them  to  an  island.  One  was  reported  to  be  a  capacious 
hollow  log,  capable  of  carrying  nearly  as  much  as  the 
boat.  Since  the  river  was  the  highway  of  the  natives, 
we  should  be  wise  to  employ  the  stream,  by  which  we 
should  save  our  men,  and  carry  our  sick  as  well  as  a 
reserve  of  food.  For  we  had  been  narrowly  brought  to 
the  verge  of  want  on  the  last  day,  and  we  were  utter 
strangers  in  a  strange  land,  groping  our  way  through 
darkness.  The  boat  was  sent  back  with  an  extra  crew 
to  secure  the  canoe  and  paddle  her  up  to  our  camp. 

Of  course  Bukanda  had  been  abandoned  long  before 
we  reached  it — the  village  of  cone  huts  was  at  our 
disposal — the  field  of  manioc  also.  This  custom  also 
was  unlike  anything  I  had  seen  in  Africa  before. 
Previously  the  natives  may  have  retired  with  their 
women,  but  the  males  had  remained  with  spear  and  target, 
representing  ownership.  Here  the  very  fowls  had  taken 
to  flight.  It  was  clearly  a  region  unsuitable  for  the 
study  of  ethnology. 

At  noon  of  the  6th  we  defiled  out  of  Bukanda 
refurnished  with  provisions,  and  two  hours  later  were  in 
camp  in  uninhabited  space.  We  had  devoted  the 
morning  to  cleaning  and  repairing  rifles — many  of 
whose  springs  were  broken. 

Some  facts  had  already  impressed  themselves  upon 
us.  We  observed  that  the  mornings  were  muggy  and 
misty — that  we  were  chilly  and  inclined  to  be  cheerless 
in  consequence ;  that  it  required  some  moral  courage  to 
leave  camp  to  brave  the  cold,  damp,  and  fogginess 
without,  to  brave  the  mud  and  slush,  to  ford  creeks  up 
to  the  waist  in  water ;   that  the  feelings  were  terribly 


Bukanda. 


150  IN  DARKEST  AFBlCA. 

1887.  depressed  in  the  dismal  twilight  from  the  want  of 
^Juiy  6-  brightness  and  sunshine  warmth ;  and  the  depres- 
sion caused  by  the  sombre  clouds  and  dull  grey 
river  which  reliected  the  drear  daylight.  The  actual 
temperature  on  these  cold  mornings  was  but  seventy 
to  seventy-two  degrees — had  we  judged  of  it  by  our 
cheerlessness  it  might  have  been  twenty  degrees  less. 

The  refuse  heaps  of  the  little  villages  were  large  and 
piled  on  the  edge  of  the  bank.  They  were  a  compost  of 
filth,  sweepings  of  streets  and  huts,  peelings  of  manioc, 
and  often  of  plantains  with  a  high  heap  of  oyster-shells. 
Had  I  not  much  else  to  write  about,  an  interesting 
chapter  on  these  composts,  and  the  morals,  manners, 
and  usajies  of  the  aborigines  mioiit  be  w^ritten.  Just 
as  Owen  could  prefigure  an  extinct  mammoth  of  the 
dead  ages  from  the  view  of  a  few  bones,  the  history  of 
a  tribe  could  be  developed  by  me  out  of  these  refuse 
heaps.  Bevelling  in  these  fetid  exhalations  were 
representatives  of  many  insect  tribes.  Columns  of  ants 
wound  in  and  out  with  more  exact  formation  than 
aborigines  could  compose  themselves,  files  buzz  in 
myriads  over  the  heaps,  with  the  murmur  of  enjoyment, 
butterflies  which  would  liavc  delighted  Jameson's  soul 
swarmed  exulting  in  tlieir  gorgeous  colours,  and  a 
perfect  (Houd  of  moths  hovered  above  all. 

'J'he  villages  of  tlic  Bakuti  were  reached  on  the  7th, 
after  seven  hours'  slow  inarching  and  incessant  cutting. 
I  occupied  a  seat  in  the  boat  on  this  day  and  observed 
that  tlie  banks  were  from  six  to  ten  feet  above  the 
river  on  cither  side,  tliat  tlicre  were  numerous  traces  of 
former  occupation  easily  detected  despite  the  luxuriance 
of  the  young  forest  that  Jiad  grown  up  and  usurped 
the  space  once  occupied  by  villages  and  fields  ;  that  either 
wars  or  epidemics  liad  distur])ed  the  inhabitants  twenty 
years  ago,  and  that  as  yet  oidy  one  ci'ocodile  had  been 
seen  on  the  Ainwiml,  ;iiid  only  one  hippo,  which  I  took 
to  be  a  sure  sign  tluit  (licici  was  not  much  pasture 
in  this  region. 

Ah  the  rowers  uigcl  (li«'  l)ont  gently  up  the  stream, 
and    1    heard    llic    bill  liooks    and    axes    carving   away 


THE  SCENERY   ON   THE   ARUWIM I   BANKS.  151 

through    bush    and    brake    tangle    and    forest    without     1887. 
which  scarcely  a  yard    of  progress    could   be  n'.ade,  I    "'"'^  ^; 
regretted  more  than   ever  that   I   had  not  insisted  on    ^^''''"'''• 
being  allowed  to  carry  out   my   own  plan   of  having 
fifteen  whale-boats.     What  toil  would  have  been  saved, 
and  -what  anxiety  would  have  been  spared  me. 

On  the  9th  we  gained,  after  another  seven  hours' 
toiling;  and  niarchino-.  the  villag-es  of  the  Bakoka. 
Already  the  people  began  to  look  jaded  and  seedy. 
Skewers  had  penetrated  the  feet  of  several,  ulcers 
began  to  attract  notice  by  their  growing  virulence, 
many  people  complained  of  curious  affections  in  the 
limbs.     Stairs  was  slowly  recovering. 

We  had  passed  so  many  abandoned  clearings  that  our 
expedition  might  have  been  supported  for  weeks  by  the 
manioc  which  no  owner  claimed.  It  was  very  clear  that 
internecine  strife  had  caused  the  migrations  of  the 
tribes.  The  Bakoka  villages  were  all  stockaded,  and 
the  entrance  gates  were  extremely  low. 

The  next  day  we  passed  by  four  villages  all  closely 
stockaded,  and  on  the  lOtli  came  to  the  rapids  of 
Gwengwere.  Here  there  were  seven  large  villages 
bordering  the  rapids  and  extending  from  below  to  above 
the  broken  water.  All  the  population  had  fled  probably 
to  the  opposite  main,  or  to  the  islands  in  mid-river,  and 
every  portable  article  was  carried  away  except  the 
usual  wreckage  of  coarse  pottery,  stools,  and  benches, 
and  back  rests.  The  stockades  were  in  oood  order  and 
villages  intact.  In  one  large  village  there  were  210 
conical  huts,  and  tw^o  square  sheds  used  for  public 
assemblies  and  smithies.  This  occupied  a  commanding- 
bluff  sixty  feet  above  the  river,  and  a  splendid  view  of 
a  dark  grey  silver  stream,  flanked  by  dense  and  lofty 
walls  of  thickest  greenest  vegetation,  was  obtained. 

Lieutenant  Stairs  was  fast  recovering  from  his.  long 
attack  of  bilious  fever  ;  my  other  companions  enjoyed  the 
best  of  health,  though  our  diet  consisted  of  vegetables, 
leaves  of  the  manioc  and  herbs  bruised  and  made  into 
patties.  But  on  this  day  we  had  a  dish  of  w^eaver- 
birds  furnished  by   the  Doctor,   who  with  his  shot-gun 


152  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     bagged  a  few  of  the  thousands  which  had  made  their 
July  10.  j^gg^g  Qjj  ^i^g  village  trees. 

Zlvt  On  the  1 1th  we  marched  about  a  mile  to  give  the  canoe- 
men  a  chance  to  pole  their  vessels  through  the  rapids 
and  the  column  a  rest.  The  day  following  marched  six 
geographical  miles,  the  river  turning  easterly,  which  was 
our  course.  Several  small  rapids  were  passed  without 
accident.  As  we  were  disappearing  from  view  of 
Gwengwere',  the  population  was  seen  scurrying  from 
the  right  bank  and  islands  back  to  their  homes,  which 
they  had  temporarily  vacated  for  our  convenience.  It 
seemed  to  me  to  be  an  excellent  arrangement.  It  saved 
trouble  of  speech,  exerted  possibly  in  useless  efforts  for 
peace  and  tedious  chaffer.  They  had  only  one  night's 
inconvenience,  and  were  there  many  caravans  advancing 
as  peaceably  as  we  were,  natural  curiosity  would  in  time 
induce  them  to  come  forward  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
strangers. 

Our  people  found  abundant  to  eat  in  the  fields,  and 
around  the  villages.  The  area  devoted  to  cultivation 
was  extensive  :  plantains  flourished  around  the  stock- 
ades ;  herbs  for  potage  were  found  in  little  plots  close  to 
the  villages  ;  also  sufficient  tobacco  for  smoking,  and 
pumpkins  for  dessert,  and  a  little  Indian  corn  ;  but,  alas, 
we  all  suffered  from  want  of  meat. 

There  were  few  aquatic  ])irds  to  be  seen.  There  were 
some  few  specimens  of  divers,  fish  eagles,  and  king- 
fishei's.  Somewhere,  at  a  distance,  a  pair  of  ibis  screamed  ; 
fiocks  of  parrots  whistled  and  jabbered  in  vain  struggles 
to  rob  the  solitude  of  the  vast  trackless  forest  of  its 
oppressive  silcn<*e  ;  whip-poor-wills,  and  sunbirds,  and 
w(;avers  aided  tliem  witli  their  varied  strains  ;  but  insects, 
and  flies,  and  mollis  were  innumerable. 

On  the  1  LM  Ii  we  moved  up  as  usual,  starting  at  0.30  A.M., 
the  caravan  incrcding  the  ])oatand  its  consorts.  Though 
proceeding  only  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  and  a  half  per 
hour,  we  soon  ovcrliaiilcd  llie  struggling  caravan,  and 
passfid  tjic  for-emost  of  llir  [(iiMiccrs.  At  10  A.M.  we  met 
a  native  boy,  callid  liakula,  (.falMnit  fi fteen  years,  fioating 
down  T'ivcr  on  a  [ticcc  of,!  canoe;,      lie  sprung  aboard  our 


ANOTHER   FURIOUS    TEMPEST.  153 

boat  with  alacrity,  and  used  lii.s  paddle  properly.     An      i887. 
hour  later  we  rounded  the  lowest  point  of  a  lengthy    "'"'^  ^"^: 
curve,  bristling  with  numerous  large  villages.     The  boy     ""  '*"^*" 
volunteer  who  had  dropped  to  our  aid  from  the  unknown, 
called  the  lower  village  Bandangi,  the  next  Ndumba,  and 
the  long  row  of  villages  above,  the  houses  of  the  Banalya 
tribe.     But  all  were  deserted.     AVe  halted  at  Bandangi 
for  lunch,  and  at  2  p.m.  resumed  our  journey. 

An  hour's  pull  brought  us  to  the  upper  village,  where 
we  camped.  Our  river  party  on  this  day  numbered  forty 
men  ;  but,  as  we  landed,  we  were  lost  in  the  large  and 
silent  villatije.  1  had  counted  thirteen  villages — one  of 
these  numbered  180  huts.  Assuming  that  in  this  curve 
there  were  1300  huts,  and  allowing  only  four  persons  to 
each  hut,  we  have  a  population  of  5200. 

At  5.30  appeared  the  advance  guard  of  the  column, 
and  presently  a  furious  tempest  visited  us,  with  Such 
violent  accompaniments  of  thunder  and  lightning  as 
might  have  been  expected  to  be  necessary  to  clear  the 
atmosphere  charged  with  the  collected  vapours  of  this 
humid  region — through  which  the  sun  appeared  daily  as 
through  a  thick  veil.  Therefore  the  explosive  force  of 
the  electric  fluid  was  terrific.  All  about  us,  and  at  all 
points,  it  lightened  and  shattered  with  deafening  explo- 
sions, and  blinding  forks  of  flame,  the  thick,  sluggish, 
vaporous  clouds.  Nothing  less  than  excessive  energy  of 
concentrated  electricity  could  have  cleared  the  heavy 
atmosphere,  and  allowed  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  to 
see  the  colour  of  the  sky,  and  to  feel  the  cheering  in- 
fluence of  the  sun.  For  four  hours  we  had  to  endure  the 
dreadful  bursts  ;  v/hile  a  steady  stream  of  rain  relieved  ^ 
the  surcharged  masses  that  had  hung  incumbent  above 
us  for  days.  While  the  river  party  and  advance  guard 
were  housed  in  the  upper  village,  the  rear  guard  and 
No.  4  Company  occupied  Bandangi,  at  the  town  end  of 
the  crescent,  and  we  heard  them  shooting  minute  guns  to 
warn  us  of  their  presence  ;  while  we  vainly,  for  econo- 
mical reasons,  replied  with  the  tooting  of  long  ivory 
horns. 

Such    a   large  population  naturally   owned  exclusive 


154  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  fields  of  manioc,  plantations  of  bananas,  and  plantains, 
July  12.  sugar-cane,  gardens  of  herbs,  and  Indian  corn,  and  as  the 
an  angi.  j^gg^^^  ^^:^^^  |^,^j  Saturated  the  ground,  a  halt  was  ordered. 

By  nine  o'clock  the  rear  guard  was  known  to  have 
arrived  by  Nelson's  voice  crying  out  for  "  chop  and 
coffee  " — our  chop  consisted  of  cassava  cakes,  a  plantain 
or  so  roasted,  and  a  mess  of  garden  greens,  with  tea  or 
coffee.  Flesh  of  goat  or  fowl  was  simply  unprocurable. 
Neither  bird  nor  beast  of  any  kind  was  to  be  obtained. 
Hitherto  only  two  crocodiles  and  but  one  hippo  had 
been  discovered,  but  no  elephant,  buffalo,  or  antelope  or 
wild  hoo;,  thouo-h  tracks  were  numerous.  How  could  it 
be  otherwise  with  the  pioneers'  shouts,  cries,  noise  of 
cutting  and  crushing,  and  pounding  of  trees,  the  murmur 
of  a  large  caravan  ?  With  the  continuous  gossip,  story- 
telling, wrangling,  laughing  or  wailing  that  were  main- 
tained during  the  march,  it  was  simply  impossible.  Pro- 
gress through  the  undergrowth  was  denied  without  a 
heavy  knife,  machette,  or  bill-hook  to  sever  entangling 
creepers,  and  while  an  animal  may  have  been  only  a  few 
feet  off  on  the  other  side  of  a  busli,  vain  was  the  attempt 
to  obtain  view  of  it  through  impervious  masses  of  vege- 
taticju. 

In  our  boat  I  employed  the  halt  for  examining  the 
islands  near  Bandangi.  We  discovered  lengthy  heaps  of 
oyster-shells  on  one  island,  one  of  which  was  sixty  feet 
long,  ten  feet  wide,  and  four  feet  liigli  ;  we  can  imagine 
the  feasts  of  tlie  bivalves  that  the  aborigines  enjoyed 
during  their  })icnics,  and  the  length  of  time  that  had 
elapsed  sin(-c  the  first  bivalve  had  been  eaten.  On  my 
return  I  noticed  through  a  bank-slip  in  the  centre  of  the 
curve  a  stratum  of  oyster-sliell  buried  three  feet  under 
ulhiviinii. 

Our  native  boy  linkiiln,  infonned  us  tliat  inland  north 
lived  the  Babiini,  wlio  were  very  different  from  the 
river  tribes,  thai,  up  ii\(r,  ;i  inontirs  journey,  would  be 
found  dwai'fs  nlioiil  two  jrct  lii,L;li,  witli  long  beards ; 
tliat  h(5  li;id  once  )(iiiriio.yed  as  \\\v  ;is  Panga  where  the 
river  tunil)Ir(|  Iroin  ;i  hciglit  .-is  high  as  tlie  tallest  tree, 
that  the    Aruwiiiii    w.is   now  cjilh'il    Lui  by  tlie  people  of 


OUR   NATIVE  BOY  liAKULA.  155 

the  left  bank,  but  that  to  the  Baburu  on  the  right  bank     1887. 
it  was  known  as  the  Luhali.  Bakula  was  an  exceptionally    ^"'^  ^^' 
crafty  lad,  a  pure  cannibal,  to  whom  a  mess  of  human  ^^"'^^"^'• 
meat  would  have   been  delectable.       He   was  a  perfect 
mimic,  and  had  by  native  cunning  protected  himself  by 
conforming  readily  to  what  he  divined  would  be  pleasing 
to  the  strangers  by  whom  he  was   surrounded.      Had  all 
the  native  tribes  adopted  this  boy's  policy  our  passage 
through  these  novel  lands  would  have .  been  as  pleasant 
as  could  be  desired.     I  have   no  doubt  that  they  pos- 
sessed all  the  arts  of  craft  which  we  admired  in  Bakula, 
they  had  simply  not  the  courage  to  do  what  an  accident 
had  enabled  him  to  carry  out. 

From  Chief  Bambi's  town  of  the  Banalya  w^e  moved 
to  Bungangeta  villages  by  river  and  land  on  the  1 5  th.  It 
was  a  stern  and  sombre  morning,  gloomy  with  lowering 
and  heavy  clouds.  It  struck  me  on  this  dull  dreary 
morning,  while  regarding  the  silent  flowing  waters  of  the 
dark  river  and  the  lono;  unbroken  forest  frontag-e,  that 
nature  in  this  region  seems  to  be  waiting  the  long  ex- 
pected trumpet-call  of  civilization — that  apjDointed  time 
when  she  shall  awake  to  her  duties,  as  in  other  portions 
of  the  earth.  I  compared  this  waiting  attitude  to  the 
stillness  preceding  the  dawn,  before  the  insect  and  animal 
life  is  astir  to  fret  the  air  with  its  murmur,  before  the 
day  has  awakened  the  million  minute  passions  of  the 
wilds ;  at  that  hour  when  even  Time  seems  to  be  drowsy 
and  nodding,  our  inmost  thoughts  appear  to  be  loud, 
and  the  heart  throbs  to  be  clamorous.  But  when  the 
young  day  peeps  forth  white  and  gray  in  the  East  the 
eyelids  of  the  world  lift  up.  There  is  a  movement  and  a 
hum  of  invisible  life,  and  all  the  earth  seems  wakened 
from  its  brooding.  But  withal,  the  forest  world  remains 
restful,  and  Nature  bides  her  day,  and  the  river  shows  no 
life ;  unlike  Kip  Van  AVinkle,  Nature,  despite  her  im- 
measurably long  ages  of  sleep,  indicates  no  agedness,  so 
old,  incredibly  old,  she  is  still  a  virgin  locked  in  innocent 
repose. 

What  expansive  wastes  of  rich  productive  land  lie  in 
this  region  unheeded  by  man  !     Populous  though   the 


156  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.     river   banks   are,    tliey   are   but   slightly  disturbed  by 
July  lo.   labour — a  trifling  grubbing  of  parts  of  the  foreshore,  a 

gefa. "  limited  acreage  for  manioc,  within  a  crater-like  area  in 
the  bosom  of  the  dark  woods,  and  a  narrow  line  of  small 
cotes,  wherein  the  savages  huddle  within  their  narrow 
circumference. 

One  of  my  amusements  in  the  boat  was  to  sketch  the 
unknown  course  of  the  river  —  for  as  the  aborigines 
disappeared  like  rats  into  their  holes  on  one's  approach 
I  could  gain  no  information  respecting  it.  How  far  was 
it  permissible  for  me  to  deviate  from  my  course  ?  By 
the  river  I  could  assist  the  ailing  and  relieve  the  strong. 
The  goods  could  be  transported  and  the  feeble  conveyed. 
Reserves  of  manioc  and  plantain  could  also  be  carried. 
But  would  a  somewhat  long  curve,  winding  as  high  as 
some  forty  or  fifty  geographical  miles  north  of  our 
course,  be  compensated  by  these  advantages  of  relief  oi 
the  porters,  and  the  abundance  of  provisions  that  are 
assuredly  found  on  the  banks  ?  When  I  noted  the 
number  of  the  sick,  and  saw  the  jaded  condition  of  the 
people,  I  felt  that  if  the  river  ascended  as  far  as  2°  N., 
it  was  infinitely  preferable  to  plunging  into  the  centre 
of  the  forest. 

The  temperature  of  the  air  during  the  clouded  morn- 
ing was  75°,  surface  of  the  river  77°.  What  a  relief  it 
was  to  l)reathe  tlie  air  of  the  river  after  a  night  spent  in 
inhaling  the  close  impure  air  in  the  forest  by  night ! 

On  the  IGtli  we  possessed  one  boat  and  five  canoes, 
carrying  seventy-four  men  and  120  loads,  so  that  with 
the  weight  of  the  boat  sections,  half  of  our  men  were 
relieved  of  loads,  and  carried  notliing  every  alternative 
day.  AVe  passed  by  tlio  mouth  of  a  ('onsiderable  affluent 
from  the  south-east,  and  canijxMl  .-i  mile  above  it.  The 
tem})eraturc  rose  to  94°  in  tlie  afternoon,  and  as  a 
cons('(|U('iicc  rain  fell  in  torrents,  preceded  by  tlie  usual 
thunder  roars  and  ]iglilnin<4  (laslics.  Until  1  P.M.  of 
the  I7tli  tlio  rain  fell  unceasingly.  It  would  have  been 
irjtciostin;:  to  have  .•isccrtnincMl  tlie  mnnber  of  inches 
that  Fell  (liiiinL!,-  these  nineleeii  houi-s'  rain-pour.  Few 
of  the;    [)eoj)h'   enjoyed   any  lest  ;    t  here    was  a  general 


Lower 
Mariri. 


THE   SOMA  LIS.  157 

wringing  of  blankets  and  clothes  after  it  ceased,  but  it     iss?. 
was  some  hours  before  they  recovered  their  usual  ani-    "'"'^  ^'^ 
mation.     The  aborigines  must  have  been  also  depressed, 
owing  to  our  vicinity,  though  if  they  had  known  what 
wealth  we  possessed,  they  might  have  freely  parted  with 
their  goats  and  fowls  for  our  wares. 

The  column  camped  at  3  p.m.  opposite  the  settlement 
of  Lower  Mariri.  Besides  their  immense  wooden  drums, 
which  sounded  the  alarm  to  a  ten-mile  distance,  the 
natives  vociferated  with  unusual  powers  of  lung,  so 
that  their  cries  could  be  heard  a  mile  off.  The  absence 
of  all  other  noises  lends  peculiar  power  to  their  voices. 

The  Somalis,  who  are  such  excellent  and  efticient 
servants  in  lands  like  the  Masai,  or  dry  regions  like 
the  Soudan,  are  perfectly  useless  in  humid  regions. 
Five  of  tbem  declined  to  stay  at  Yambuya,  and  insisted 
on  accompanying  me.  Since  we  had  taken  to  the  river 
I  had  employed  them  as  boatmen,  or  rather  did  employ 
them  when  they  were  able  to  handle  a  paddle  or  a  pole, 
but  their  physical  powers  soon  collapsed,  and  they 
became  mere  passengers.  On  shore,  without  having 
undergone  any  exertion,  they  were  so  prostrated  after  a 
two  hours'  river  voyage,  that  they  were  unable  to  rig 
shelter  against  rain  and  damp,  and  as  they  were  thievish 
the  Zanzibaris  refused  to  permit  them  to  approach  their 
huts.  The  result  was  that  we  had  the  trouble  each  clay 
to  see  that  a  share  of  food  even  was  doled  out  to  them, 
as  they  would  have  voluntarily  starved  rather  than  cut 
down  the  plantains  above  their  heads. 

From  opposite  Lower  Mariri  we  journeyed  to  a  spot 
ten  miles  below  the  Upper  Mariri  on  the  18th.  The 
canoes  had  only  occupied  4  h.  15  m.,  but  the  land 
column  did  not  appear  at  all. 

On  the  19th  I  employed  the  boat  and  canoe  crews  to 
cut  a  road  to  above  a  section  of  the  rapids  of  Upper 
Mariri.  This  was  accomplished  in  2^  hours.  We 
returned  to  camp  in  45  minutes.  Our  pace  going  up 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  caravan,  consequently  an 
ordinary  day's  travel  through  the  forest  would  be  six 
miles.     On  returning  to  camp  formed  the  column,  and 


158  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     marched   it   to    the  end  of  our   paths  ;    the  boat   and 

July  20.   (janoes  were  punted  up  the  rapids  without  accident,  and 

wiriri.    i^  the  afternoon  the  people  foraged  for  food  at  a  village 

a  mile  and  a  half  above  camp  with  happy  results.     On 

the  20th  the  advance  column  marched  up  and  occupied 

the  village. 

About  two  hours  after  arrival  some  of  the  natives  of 
Mariri  came  in  a  canoe  and  hailed  us.  We  replied 
through  Bakula,  the  native  boy,  and  in  a  short  time 
were  able  to  purchase  a  couple  of  fowls,  and  during  the 
afternoon  were  able  to  purchase  three  more.  This  was 
the  first  barter  we  had  been  able  to  effect  on  the  Arii- 
winii.  ]\Iariri  is  a  large  settlement  abounding  in  plan- 
tains, while  at  our  village  there  were  none.  Two  men, 
Charlie  No.  1  and  ]\Iusa  bin  Juma  disappeared  on  this 
day.     Within  twenty-three  days  we  had  not  lost  a  man. 

No  casualty  had  as  yet  happened,  and  good  fortune, 
which  had  hitherto  clung  to  us,  from  this  date  began  to 
desert  us.  We  were  under  the  impression  that  those 
men  had  been  captured  by  natives,  and  their  heedless 
conduct  was  tlie  text  of  a  sermon  preached  to  the  men 
next  morning  when  they  were  mustered  for  the  march. 
It  was  not  until  thirteen  months  later  that  w^e  knew 
that  they  had  deserted,  that  they  had  succeeded  in 
reaching  Yambuya,  and  had  invented  the  most  mar- 
vellous tales  of  wars  and  disasters,  which,  when  repeated 
})y  the  officers  at  Yambuya  in  their  letter  to  the  Com- 
mittee, created  so  much  anxiety.  Had  I  believed  it 
had  been  possible  tliat  two  messengers  could  have 
performed  that  march,  Ave  certainly  had  availed  our- 
selves of  tlie  fact  to  have  communicated  authentic  news 
and  chart  of  tlic  route  to  Major  Barttelot,  who  in 
anoth(;r  nioiilh  woul(l  be  leaving  his  camp  as  we  be- 
lieved. From  tlie  village  oj)posite  Upper  Mariri  we 
proceeded  to  S.  Mupc,  a  large  settlement  consisting  of 
several  villages,  embowered  in  ])l;uitations.  The  chiefs 
of  Mupc  are  iMbadu,  Alimba,  and  iMangrudi. 

On  the  22nd  Surgeon  Parke  was  the  officer  of  the 
(lay,  and  was  unfoilun.-ile  enough  to  miss  the  river,  and 
strike    through    the   forest  in    a    wrong   direction.     He 


THE   BABE    MANNERS,    CUISTUMS,    AND    DRESS.       159 

finally    struck  a  track    on    wliicli    the   scouts   found   a     1887. 
woman  and  a  large-eyed,  brown-coloured  child.      The  "^"'^22. 
woman  showed  the  route  to  the  river,  and  was  after-       "^^ 
wards  released.     Through  her  influence  the  natives  of 
N.  Mupc  on  the  right  bank  were  induced  to  trade  with 
us,  by  which  we  were  enabled  to  procure  a  dozen  fowls 
and  two  eggs. 

The  bed  of  the  river  in  this  locality  is  an  undistur})ed 
rock  of  fine-grained  and  hard,  brick-coloured  sandstone. 
This  is  the  reason  that  the  little  rapids,  though  fretpent 
enough,  present  but  little  obstacles  to  navigation.  The 
banks  at  several  places  rose  to  about  forty  feet  above 
the  river,  and  the  rock  is  seen  in  horizontal  strata  in 
blufty  form,  in  many  instances  like  crumbling  ruins  of 
cut  stone. 

The  sign  of  peace  with  these  riverine  natives  appears 
to  be  the  pouring  of  water  on  their  heads  with  their 
hands.  As  new-comers  approached  our  camp  they  cried 
out,  "  AVe  sufter  from  famine,  we  have  no  food,  but  up 
river  you  will  find  plenty.  Oh,  '  monomopote '  1  (son  of 
tlie  sea)."  "  But  we  sufter  from  want  of  food,  and  have 
not  the  strength  to  proceed  unless  you  give  us  some," 
we  replied.  Whereupon  they  threw  us  fat  ears  of 
Indian  corn,  plantains,  and  sugar-cane.  This  was 
preliminary  to  a  trade,  in  doing  wdiich  these  apparently 
unsophisticated  natives  were  as  sharp  and  as  exorbitant 
as  any  of  the  Wyyanzi  on  the  Congo.  The  natives  of 
Mupe  are  called  Babe', 

Trifles,  such  as  empty  sardine  boxes,  jam  and  milk 
cans,  and  cartridge  cases,  were  easily  barterable  for 
sugar-cane,  Indian  corn,  and  tobacco.  A  cotton  hand- 
kerchief would  buy  a  fowl,  goats  were  brought  to  our 
view,  but  not  parted  with.  They  are  said  to  be  the 
monopoly  of  chiefs.  The  natives  showed  no  fixed 
desire  for  any  speciality  but  cloth — gaudy  red  handker- 
chiefs. AVe  saw  some  cow^ries  among  them,  and  in  the 
bottom  of  a  canoe  w^e  found  a  piece  of  an  infantry 
officer's  sword  nine  inches  long.  We  should  have  been 
delighted  to  have  heard  the  history  of  that  sword,  and 
the  list  of  its  owners  since  it  left  Birmingham.     But  we 


160 


IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
July  22. 

Mup^. 


could  not  maintain  any  lengthy  conversation  with  them, 
our  ignorance  of  the  language,  and  their  excitability 
prevented  us  from  doing  more  than  observing  and 
interchanging  words  relating  to  peace  and   food  with 

them.  We  can  accept  the  bib 
of  sword  blade  as  evidence  that 
their  neiohbours  in  the  interior 

o 

have  had  some  contact  with  the 
Soudanese. 

Neither  in  manners,  customs 
or  dress  was  there  any  very 
great  difference  between  these 
natives  and  those  belonging  to 
the  upper  parts  of  the  Upper 
Conoo.  Their  head-dresses  were 
of  basket  work  decorated  with 
red  parrot  feathers,  monkey 
skin  caps  of  grey  or  dark  fur, 
with  the  tails  drooping  behind. 
The  neck,  arm  and  ankle  orna- 
ments were  of  polished  iron, 
rarely  of  copper,  never  of  brass. 
They  make  beautiful  paddles, 
finely  carved  like  a  long  pointed 
leaf.  "  Senneneh "  was  the 
peaceful  hail  as  in  ]\ranyuema,  Uregga  and  Usongora, 
a])ove  Stanley  Falls.  The  com])lexion  of  these  natives 
is  more  oclireous  tlian  l)lack.  When  a  body  of  them  is 
seen    on  the  opposite  bank,  there  is  little  difference  of 


UEAU-DUESS — CROWN    OV 
BItlSTLES. 


rAIiDI.K    OK    THK    II'lT.ll    AUlWIMt    01!    ITUUL 

colour  bcl\\<'('n  their  l)u(H('s  and  tliei'cddish  clayey  soil 
of  the  landing-place.  Much  of  this  is  due  to  the 
Camwood  ])o\vd('r,  and  witli  lliis  mixed  with  oil  they 
perform    their   t(jileL.       Jiut    protection    from    sunshine 


QUALITIES    OF  MY  FOUR    OFFK'FL'S.  Ifil 

consicler{x])ly   contributes    to    this    light    colour.       The     ihht. 
native  l)oy,   Bakuki,  for  instance,  was  deprived  of  this   "^"^^  '^^ 
universal  cosmetic  made  of  Camwood,  and  he  was  nmch       "''^' 
lighter  than  the  average  of  our  Zanzibaris. 

On  the  24th,  Mr.  Jephson  led  the  van  of  the  column, 
and  under  his  guidance  w^e  made  the  astonishing  march  of 
seven  and  a  half  geographical  miles — the  column  having 
Ijeen  compelled  to  wade  through  seventeen  streams  and 
creeks.  During  these  days  Jephson  exhibited  a  marvellous 
\'igour.  He  was  in  many  things  an  exact  duplicate  of 
myself  in  my  younger  days,  before  years  and  hundreds 
of  fevers  had  cooled  my  l)urning  blood.  He  is  exactly 
of  my  own  height,  build  and  weight  and  temperament. 
He  is  sanguine,  confident,  and  loves  hard  work.  He  is 
simply  indefatigable,  and  whether  it  is  slushy  mire  or 
a  muddy  creek,  in  he  enters,  without  hesitation,  up  to 
liis  knees,  waist,  neck  or  overhead  it  is  all  the  same. 
A  sybarite,  dainty  and  fastidious  in  civilization,  a  traveller 
and  labourer  in  Africa,  he  requires  to  be  restrained  and 
counselled  for  his  own  sake.  Now  these  young  men, 
Stairs,  Nelson  and  Parke,  are  very  much  in  the  same 
way.  Stairs  is  the  military  gfficer,  alert,  intelligent, 
who  understands  a  hint,  a  curt  intimation,  grasps  an 
idea  firmly  and  realises  it  to  perfection.  Nelson  is  a 
centurion  as  of  old  Roman  times,  he  can  execute  because 
it  is  the  will  of  his  chief ;  he  does  not  stay  to  ask  the 
reason  why ;  he  only  understands  it  to  be  a  necessity, 
and  his  great  vigour,  strength,  resolution,  plain,  good 
sense  is  at  my  disposal,  to  act,  suffer  or  die ;  and  Parke, 
noble,  gentle  soul,  so  tender  and  devoted,  so  j)atient,  so 
sweet  in  mood  and  brave  in  temper,  always  enduring 
and  eff"using  comfort  as  he  moves  through  our  atmos- 
phere of  suff'ering  and  pain.  No  four  men  ever  entered 
Africa  with  such  qualities  as  these.  No  leader  ever  had 
cause  to  bless  his  stars  as  I. 

On  this  day  Jephson  had  two  adventures.  In  his 
usual  free,  impulsive  manner,  and  with  swinging  gait 
he  was  directing  the  pioneers— crushing  through  the 
jungle,  indiff"erent  to  his  costume,  when  he  suddenly 
sank   out   of  sight    into  an  elephant  pit !     AVe  might 

VOL.  I.  L 


162  IK   DARKKST  AFRICA. 

1887.  have  imagined  a  playful  and  sportive  young  elephant 
July  24.  cra_>^i^ijig  through  the  bushes,  rending  and  tearing  young 
"^''''  saplings,  and  suddenly  disappearing  from  the  view  of 
his  more  staid  mamma.  Jephson  had  intelligence,  how- 
ever, and  aid  was  at  hand,  and  he  was  pulled  out  none 
the  worse.  It  was  a  mere  amusing  incident  to  be 
detailed  in  camp  and  to  provoke  a  laugh. 

He  rushed  ahead  of  the  pioneers  to  trace  the  course 
to  be  followed,  and  presently  encountered  a  tall  native, 
with  a  spear  in  his  hand,  face  to  face.  Both  were  so 
astonished  as  to  l)e  paralysed,  but  Jephson's  impulse 
was  that  of  a  Berseker.  He  Hung  himself,  unarmed, 
upon  the  native,  who,  eluding  his  grasp,  ran  from  him, 
as  he  would  from  a  lion,  headlong  down  a  steep  bank 
into  a  creek,  Jephson  following.  But  the  clayey  soil 
was  damp  and  slippery,  his  foot  slipped,  and  the  gallant 
Captain  of  the  Advance  measured  his  length  face 
downwards  with  his  feet  up  the  slope,  and  such  was 
his  impetus  that  he  slid  down  to  the  edge  of  the  creek. 
A\'hen  he  recovered  himself  it  was  to  behold  the  denizen 
of  the  woods,  hurrying  up  the  opposite  bank  and  casting 
wild  eyes  at  this  sudden  pale-faced  apparition  who  had 
so  disturbed  him  as  he  l)rooded  over  the  prospect  of 
finding  game  in  his  traps  tliat  day. 

Our  camp  on  tliis  day  was  a  favourite  haunt  of 
elej)liants  from  time  immemorial.  It  was  near  a  point 
ri»uiid  wliidi  the  ii\cr  raced  witli  strong  swirling 
ciinciils.  A  long  \  icw  (»!"  a  liroad  silent  river  is  seen 
ii[)\vard,  and  one  of  a  v'wvr  disparted  1)y  a  series  of 
ishmds  below. 

()ii  tlic  •1:)\\\  ('aptaiii  Nelson  led  llie  column,  Jephson 
\\as  i'(Mjiieste(|  |()  assisi  me  with  the  long  narrow  canoes 
laden  Willi  \aliiali|e  goo<ls,  ami  to  direct  some  of  the 
nn.-kiHiil  '■hililiers  "  \\lii>  (nrmcd  owv  crews.  '^^Flie  boat 
letl  l!ie  \\a\'  anchored  alio\c  ilic  dangerous  and  swirly 
point,  and  cast  the  mandla  i(i|te  to  the  canoe  crew,  who, 
hanling  by  this  coi'd  drew  the  canoes  to  (juiet  water. 
Then  rowitig  haivl  a<janist  I  he  st  long  currents,  at  11  A.M. 
wc  cuiight  the  head  of  I  he  caraxaii  gathei'e<l  on  tlie  bank 
ufa  wid(!  ami  dark  sluggish  creek,  the  llendi,  which  la/ily 


WAS!'   nAl'IDS.  163 

flowed  out  of  dark  depths  of  woods.      By  one  o'clock  the     iss?. 
ferriage  was    completed,  and  the  column    resumed   its   "^"'^  -'''• 
march,    while    we,    on    the   river,    betook   ourselves  to    kSs. 
further  struggles  with  the  dangerous  waves  and  reefs  of 
what  is  now  called  Wasp  Rapids,  from  the  following 
incident. 

These  rapids  extended  for  a  stretch  of  two  miles. 
Above  them  w^ere  the  villao;es  wdiich  became  the  scene 
of  a  tragic  strife,  as  will  be  learned  later  in  a  su])sequent 
chapter,  and  these  settlements  were  the  dear  objects  of 
our  aims  in  order  to  ol^tain  shelter  and  food. 

Our  first  efforts  against  the  rapids  were  successful. 
The  current  was  swift  and  dangerous,  l)reaking  out  into 
great  waves  now  and  then.  For  the  first  half-hour  we 
were  successful.  Then  began  a  struggle,  rowing  on  one 
side  hard  and  the  starboard  side  crew  grasping  at  over- 
hanging bushes,  two  men  poling,  two  men  on  the  decked 
bow,  with  boat-hooks  outstretched  with  their  fangs  ready 
to  snatch  at  saplings  for  firm  hold.  I  steered.  We 
advanced  slowly  but  steadily,  a  narrow  rushing  branch 
between  rocky  islets,  and  the  bank  was  before  us  which 
raced  over  a  reef,  showing  itself  in  yard  square  dots  of 
rock  above  the  waves.  We  elected  to  ascend  this  as  in 
view  of  a  capsize  there  was  less  fear  of  drowning. 
With  noble  spirits  braced  for  an  exciting  encounter,  we 
entered  it.  Eao-er  hands  Averc  held  out  to  catch  at  the 
branches,  but  at  the  first  clutch  there  issued  at  this 
critical  moment  an  army  of  fierce  spiteful  wasps  and 
settled  on  our  faces,  hands,  and  bodies,  every  vulnerable 
spot,  and  stung  us  wdth  the  venom  of  fiends.  Maddened 
and  infuriated  by  the  burning  stings,  battling  with  this 
vicious  enemy,  beset  by  reefs,  and  rocks,  and  dangerous 
waves,  and  wdiirling  vortexes,  we  tore  on  with  tooth  and 
nail,  and  in  a  few  minutes  were  a  hundred  yards  above  the 
awful  spot.  Then,  clinging  to  the  trees,  we  halted  to 
breathe  and  sympathise  with  each  other,  and  exchange 
views  and  opinions  on  the  various  stings  of  insects,  bees, 
hornets,  and  wasps. 

One  asked  my  servant  wdth  a  grim  smile,  "Did  you 
say  the  other   day  that  you  believed  there  was  much 


\/ 


164 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 

July  25 

\V;usp 

Rapids. 


honey  in  these  brown  paper  nests  of  the  wasps  ? 
Well,  what  do  you  think  cf  the  honey  now  ?  Don't 
you  think  it  is  rather  a  Litter  sort  ? "  This  raised 
a  general  laugh.  AYe  recovered  our  good  temper, 
and  resumed  our  work,  and  in  an  hour  reached  the 
village  which  the  land  party  had  occupied.  The  canoes 
crews,  Avho  followed  us,  seeing  the  battle  with  the 
wasps,  fled  across  river,  and  ascended  by  the  right 
bank.      But  the  Somalis  and  Soudanese,  more   trustful 


ill  All;ili,  bi-;i\cly  Inlloucd  (iiii-  1i;ick.a.nd  were  dread- 
fully st  iiiig  ;  still,  tlicy  wric  consoled  ] )y  being  able  to 
<'\iilt  o\cr  tlic  /;iii/,il);iiis,  I  lie  Jcadcr  of  wliicli  was 
Ulcfli,  (.(■  t  lie  "  I  )aik  (  'out  ilicill."' 

"Oil,"  I  iviiiaikc(|  |(»  rirdi.  "it  is  not  a,  ))]'ave  tiling 
yon  lia\('  done  this  da\'  — lo  ll\'  a\\a\'  iVoiii  wasps." 

"()|i,  sir,"  lie  ro|)lici|,  "naked  manhood  is  nowliere 
in  Hiich  a  scrape  as  that.  Wasps  arc  more  dangerous 
than  the  most  savaec  iiien." 


VISIT  FROM    THE   CHIEF   OF  BWAMBURL  165 

The    native    settlement   on    the    left   l)ank  is    called     i887. 
Bandeya  ;  the  one  facing  opposite  consists  of  the  villages    "^"'^'  ^^" 
of  the  Bwamburi.       North  of   the  Bwamburi,   a   day's    KapTds. 
march,  begins  the  tribes  of  the  Ababua  and  the  Mabode, 
who    have    a   different   kind    of   architecture  from  the 
steeply    conical    huts    prevailing    among    the    riverine 
tribes.     The  Mabode'  are  said  to  possess  square  houses 
with  gable  roofs,   the  walls   are   neatly  plastered,  and 
along  the  fronts  are  clay  verandahs. 

On  the  26th  we  halted  to  rest  and  recuperate.  Those 
of  us  who  were  attacked  l)y  tlie  wasps  suffered  from  a 
fever  ;  the  coxswain  of  the  boat  Avas  in  great  distress. 
The  following  day  the  chief  of  the  Bwamburi  came  over 
to  pay  us  a  visit,  and  brought  us  as  a  gift  a  month  old 
chick,  which  w\^s  declined  on  the  ground  that  we  should 
feel  we  were  robl)ing  him  were  we  to  accept  such  a  gift 
from  a  professedly  poor  man.  His  ornaments  consisted 
of  two  small  ivory  tusks  planed  flat  and  polished,  which 
hung  suspended  from  a  string  made  of  grass  encircling 
his  neck.  His  head-dress  was  a  long-haired  monkey 
skin.  We  exchanged  professions  of  amity  and  l)rother- 
hood,  and  commenced  the  march,  and  camped  opposite 
Mukupi,  a  settlement  possessing  eight  villages,  on  the 
28  th. 

Two  sturdy  prisoners  imparted  to  us  strange  informa- 
tion of  a  large  lake  called  "  No-uma,"  as  being  situate 
somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  place  called 
Panga.  It  was  said  to  be  many  days'  journey  in 
extent.  In  the  centre  was  a  large  island,  so  infested 
with  serpents  that  natives  dreaded  to  go  near  it ;  that 
from  it  flowed  the  Nepoko  into  the  Nowelle,  the  name 
now  given  to  the  Aruwimi.  After  several  days'  march 
we  discovered  that  the  lake  story  was  a  myth,  and  that 
the  Nepoko  did  not  flow  from  the  left  bank  of  the 
Aruwimi. 

Our  camp  on  the  29th  was  opposite  My-yui,  a  series 
of  villaofes  embowered  amon&st  banana  groves  on  the 
right  bank.  It  was  not  long  before  we  struck  an 
acquaintance  with  this  tribe.  We  quickly  recognized 
a   disposition    on    the   part    of    the    aborigines    to    be 


s/ 


166  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  sociable.  A  good  report  of  our  doings  had  preceded 
July  29  ^g  Trade  commenced  very  pleasantly.  Our  people 
^'•^"'"  had  cowries,  beads,  and  brass  rods,  besides  strange 
triHes  to  exchanoe  for  food.  When  the  land  column 
arrived,  prices  advanced  somewhat,  owing  to  the  greater 
demand.  It  was  reported  that  there  were  no  settle- 
ments between  our  camp  opposite  ]\ly-yui  and  Panga  ; 
that  we  should  be  nine  days  performing  the  journey 
through  the  forest. 

The  next  morning  the  bartering  was  resumed,  because 
we  wished  to  prepare  provisions  for  several  days ;  new 
ration  currency  had  ah-eady  been  distributed  to  each 
man.  But  we  were  astonished  to  find  that  only  three 
ears  of  Indian  corn  were  given  on  this  day  for  a  brass 
rod  twenty-eight  inclies  in  Jcngth,  of  the  thickness  of 
telegraph  wire.  At  Bangala  such  a  brass  rod  would 
have  purchased  five  days'  provisions  per  man  in  my 
days,  and  here  was  a  settlement  in  the  wilds  where  we 
coukl  only  obtain  three  ears  of  corn  !  For  one  fowl  four 
})rass  rods  were  demanded.  Cowries  were  not  accepted  ; 
beads  they  declined.  The  men  were  ravenously  hungry  ; 
there  were  nine  days'  wilderness  ahead.  Wasp  rapids 
was  the  nearest  place  below.  Wc  expostulated,  but 
they  were  firm.  The  men  then  began  to  sell  their 
cartridge-pouches  for  two  plantains  each.  They  were 
detected  selling  llieir  ammunition  at  the  rate  of  one 
cartridge  for  an  ear  of  corn  ;  a  tin  canteen  purchased 
two.  Bill-hooks  and  axes  went  next,  and  ruin  stared  us 
in  the  face.  I'he  natives  were  driven  away  ;  one  of 
Mugwyc's  (the  cliicrs)  ])iincipal  slaves  was  lifted  out 
of  his  canoe  by  a  gigaiilic  Zanzibari,  and  word  was  sent 
to  the  natives  tliat  if  thci'e  were  no  fair  sales  of  food 
made  as  on  the  first  day,  that  the  prisoner  would  be 
taken  away,  ;iiid  that  we  should  cross  over  and  help 
ourselves. 

]Ia\iiiL;  \v;iit(il  ;i1l  ihi-  jirtcriioon  j'or  the  reappearance 
of  food,  wc  ciiiliiiikcd  ill  (l;i\vn  on  the  .'Hst  with  two  full 
companies,  (Mitcicd  My-yni,and  <h'spat<'hcd  the  foragers. 
liy  J{  I'.M.  thci(;  was  food  enough  in  the  camp  for  ten 
(lays 


CANOE  ACCIDENT   Ori'OSJTE   MaMBaNGA.  Uu 

In  the  afternoon   of  the   1st  of  August,  tlie  advance     \mi. 
column  was  encamped  opposite  Mambanga.     The  river    ^"'~"  ^ 
party  met  with  an  accident.      Careless  Soudanese   were     ij^nga 
capsized,  and  one  of  the  Zanzibari  steersmen  disobeying 
orders  shoved  his  canoe  under  the  l)ranchy  trees  which 
spread  out  from  the  l)ank  to  the  distance  of  fifty  feet  ; 
and  1)y  the  swift  current  was  driven  against  a  submerged 
branch,  and  capsized,  causing  a  loss  of  valuable  property 
— some  of  them  being  fine  l)eads,  worth  four  shillings  a 
necklace.      Six  riHes  were  also  lost. 

The  first  death  in  the  advance  column  occurred  on  the 
2nd  August,  the  36th  day  of  departure  from  Yambuya, 
\vhi(;li  was  a  most  extraordinary  immunitv  considering 
the  hardship  and  privations  to  which  we  w^ere  all 
sul)jected.  Could  we  have  discovered  a  settlement 
of  bananas  on  the  other  bank,  we  should  certainly  have 
halted  to  recuperate  for  many  days.  A  halt  at  this 
period  of  four  or  five  days  at  a  thriving  settlement, 
would  have  been  of  vast  benefit  to  all  of  us,  but  such  a 
settlement  had  not  l)een  found,  and  it  was  necessary  for 
us  to  march  and  press  on  until  we  could  discoA'er  one. 

AVe  traversed  a  large  village  that  had  been  al)andoned 
for  probably  six  months  before  we  reached,  and  as  it 
was  the  hour  of  camping,  we  prepared  to  make  ourselves 
comfortable  for  the  eveninef-  But  as  the  tents  were 
being  pitched,  my  attention  was  called  to  the  cries 
made  by  excited  groups,  and  hastening  to  the  scene, 
heard  that  there  was  a  dead  body  almost  covered  with 
mildew  in  a  hut.  Presently  the  discovery  of  another 
was  announced  and  then  another.  This  sufficed  to 
cause  us  to  hastily  pack  up  again  and  depart  from  the 
dead  men's  village,  lest  we  might  contract  the  strange 
disease  that  had  caused  the  al)andonment  of  the  village. 

One  of  our  poor  donkeys,  unable  to  find  fitting 
sustenance  in  the  region  of  trees  and  jungle,  lay  down 
and  died.  Another  appeared  weak  and  pining  for  grass, 
which  the  endless  forest  did  not  produce. 

Opposite  our  camp  on  this  day  was  the  mouth  of  the 
Ngula  River,  an  affluent  on  the  north  side.  Within  the 
river  it  appeared  to  be  of  a  width  of  fifty  yards. 


168 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887.  On  the  3rd  two  hills  became  visible,  one  bearing 
^"^;^-  E.S.E.,  the  other  S.E.  by  E.  ^  E.,  as  we  moved  up  the 
Kiver.  nver.  We  camped  at  the  point  oi  a  curve  m  the  centre 
of  which  were  two  islands.  Paying  a  visit  to  one  of 
them  we  found  two  goats,  at  which  we  were  so  rejoiced, 
that  long  before  evening  one  was  slaughtered  for  the 
officers,  and  another  to  make  broth  for  the  sick.  A 
flock  of  a  hundred  would  have  saved  many  a  life  that 
was  rapidly  fading  away. 


HJU'r    ISLAND,     NIvMi    I'ANOA     KAI,I,;i. 


The  next  il.i\-  we  niiiNcd  nl;  l*aiig;i  or  tlie  Nepanga 
Falls,  ;il)()ut  wliirji  we  li;i(|  licjird  so  much  fi'om  Jiakula, 
t  lie  li;il  i\('  bo\'. 

The  jails  arc  riill\-  lliii(\-  fret  liioh,  though  at  first 
view  they  appcjir  i<.  lie  (|(.iili|c  \\\:\i  height,  by  the  great 
sl()[)(',  visible  ;iIm>\c  I  lie  ;i(iii;il  (';ill.  They  extend  over  a 
inilf    ill    leii'jili    IVdjii    llie   fool    of  I  he   hills,  to  alxjve  the 


An  RIVAL    AT  PANG  A    FALLS. 


169 


portage.  They  are  the  first  serious  obstacles  to  navi- 
gation we  had  encountered.  They  descend  by  four 
separate  branches,  the  Lxrgest  of  which  is  200  yards 
wide.  They  run  by  islets  of  gneissic  rock,  and  afford 
cover  to  the  natives  of  Panga,  who  when  undisturbed, 
live  upon  a  large  island  called  Nepanga,  one  mile  long 
and  300  yards  wide,  situated  GOO  yards  below  the  Falls. 
This  island  contains  three  villages,  numbering  some 
250  huts  of  the  conical  type.  There  are  several 
settlements  inland  on  both  banks.  The  staple  food 
consists  of  plantains,  though  there  are  also  fields  of 
manioc. 


1887. 
Aug.  4. 

Pangii 
Falls. 


PANGA    FALLS. 


An  unfortunate  Zanzibari,  as  though  he  had  vowed 
to  himself  to  contribute  largely  to  our  ruin,  capsized  his 
canoe  as  he  approached  Nepanga,  by  which  we  lost  two 
boxes  of  Maxim  ammunition,  five  boxes  of  cowries,  three 
of  wdiite  beads,  one  of  fxncy  beads,  one  box  fine  copper 
wire,  cartridge  pouches  and  seven  rifles. 

All  things  are  savage  in  this  region.  No  sooner,  had 
a  solitary  hippo  sighted  us  than  he  gave  chase,  and 
nearly  caught  us.  He  was  punished  severely,  and 
probably  received  his  death  wound.  The  fowls  of 
Nepanga  declined  to  be  caught  on  the  island  of 
Nepanga,   but   evaded   the  foragers    by    flight  into'  the 


Aug.  4. 

Paiiga 
Falls. 


1"0  TN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  jungle  ;  tlie  goats  were  restless,  and  combative,  and  very 
wild.  Altogether  we  captured  twelve,  which  gave  us 
some  hopes  of  being  able  to  save  some  of  our  sick 
people.  A  few  hsh  were  obtained  in  the  weirs  and 
basket-nets. 

The  results  of  3  days'  foraging  on  islands,  right  and 
left  banks  were  250  lbs.  of  Indian  corn,  18  goats,  and 
as  many  fowls,  besides  a  few  branches  of  plantains, 
among  383  people.  A  number  of  villages  and  settle- 
ments were  searched,  but  the  natives  do  not  appear  to 
possess  a  sufficiency  of  food.  They  were  said  to  be  at 
war  with  a  tril)e  called  the  Engwedde,  and  instead  of 
cultivating  live  on  l)anana  stalks,  mushrooms,  roots, 
herbs,  fish,  and  snails  and  caterpillars,  varying  this 
extraordinary  diet  by  feeding  on  slain  humanity.  In 
such  a  region  there  were  no  inducements  to  stay,  and 
we  accordingly  commenced  the  business  of  portage. 
Stairs'  C*ompany  was  detailed  for  clearing  the  canoe 
track,  and  to  strew  it  with  branches  placed  athwart  the 
road.  No.  3  and  4  Companies  hauled  the  canoes,  and 
No.  1  Company  carried  the  whale-boat  bodily  overland 
to  the  sound  of  wild  music  and  song,  and  by  the  end  of 
the  6th,  after  a  busy  day,  we  were  encamped  above  the 
great  Falls  of  Panga. 


CHAPTER  VITI. 

FROM    PANGA    FALLS    TO    UGARROWWa's. 

Another  accident  at  the  Rapids — The  yillapre  of  TTtiri — Avisibha  settle- 
ment— Inquiry  into  a  murder  case  at  Avisi])ba — Surprised  by  the 
natives — liieutenant  Stairs  wounded — We  hunt  up  the  enemy — 
Tlie  poisoned  arrows — Indifference  of  the  Zanzibaris — Jephson's 
caravan  missing — Our  wounded — Perpetual  rain — Deaths  of  Khalfan, 
Saadi,  and  others — Arrival  of  caravan — The  Mabengu  Rapids — 
Mustering  tlie  people — The  Nepoko  river — Remarks  by  Rinza — Our 
food  supply — Reckless  use  of  ammunition — Halfway  to  the  Albert 
Lake — We  fall  in  with  some  of  Ugarrowwa's  men — Absconders— We 
camp  at  Hippo  Broads  and  Avakiibi  Rapids— The  destroyed  settle- 
ment of  Navabi— Elephants  at  Memberri — More  desertions — The 
Arab  leader,  Ugarrowva — He  gives  us  information — Visit  to  the  Arab 
settlement — First  specimen  of  the  tribe  of  dwarfs — Arrangements 
with  Ugarrowwa. 

In  full  view  of  tins  last  camp  there  was  an  island  i887. 
in  mid-river  distant  about  two  miles,  that  resembled  '^"^"  '' 
a  water  battery,  and  a  village  lying  low,  apparently  Fans!* 
level  with  the  face  of  the  river.  On  exploring  it  on 
the  7th — by  no  means  an  easy  task,  so  strong  was 
the  current  sweeping  down  the  smooth  dangerous 
slope  of  river  towards  Panga — it  appeared  to  have 
been  originally  a  flat  rocky  mass  of  rock  a  few  inches 
above  high  river,  with  inequalities  on  its  surface  which 
had  been  filled  in  with  earth  carried  from  the  left  bank. 
It  measured  200  feet  in  length  by  about  ninety  feet  in 
width,  to  which  a  piscatorial  section  of  a  tribe  had 
retreated  and  built  60  cone  huts,  and  boarded  it  round 
about  with  planks  cut  out  of  a  light  wood  out  of  the 
forest  and  wrecked  canoes.  At  this  period  the  river 
was  but  six  inches  below  the  lowest  surface  of  the  island. 
Another  serious  accident  occurred  on  this  day  during 
the  journey  from  above  Panga  Falls  to  Nejambi  Rapids. 


172 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887.  A  witless,  uiitliiiikino-  canoe  coxswain  took  his  canoe 
Aug.  7.  among  the  branches  in  broken  water,  got  entangled,  and 
FdR  capsized.  Nine  out  of  eleven  rifles  were  recovered ; 
two  cases  of  gunpowder  were  lost.  The  Zanzibaris 
were  so  heedless  and  lubberly  among  rapids  that  I  felt 
myself  growing  rapidly  aged  with  intense  anxiety  while 
observing  them.  Hcnv  headstrong  human  nature  is 
prone  to  be,  I  had  ample  proofs  daily.  My  losses, 
troubles,   and    anxieties    rose    solely  from  the   reckless 


vii;\v  OF  I  riiii   viiJ.ACK 


iiKlifleroiKc  to  instructions  manifested  by  my  followers. 
On  land  they  wandei'cd  into  tli(^  forest,  and  simply  dis- 
a[)pearod,  or  were  stabbc(l  of  pierced  with  arrows.  So 
I'ai'  we  li;iil  lost  eighth  men  jind  sexcntcen  rifles. 

( >n  I  lie  stli  tlic  •■;ir;i\;iii  liiid  hauled  the  canoes  past 
Kej;inilti  ll.ipids,  ;ni(l  was  camped  a  few  miles  below 
Utiri.  'I'lic  next  day  we  icadied  1  he  villages,  where 
we  found  the  ai'cliitect  nic  had  changed.  The  houses 
were  now  all  ^alde  rooh'd  and  low,  and  each  one 
suri'oiinde(|  hy  st  I'ong,  tall,  split  log  palisades,  six  feet 
lori'j;,  nine  inches   by  four   inches  wide  and    thick,  of  the 


Uturi. 


MAltail    TO    A  VIHWliA    SKTTLEMBy  T.  178 

rubiacse  wood.  Constructed  in  two  linos,  a  street  imi. 
about  twenty  feet  ran  between  them.  As  1  oljserved  *'^"""  ^' 
them  I  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that  they  were 
extremely  defensil)le  even  against  rifles.  A  dozen 
resolute  men  in  each  court  of  one  of  these  villages 
armed  with  poisoned  arrows  might  have  caused  con- 
siderable loss  and  annoyance  to  an  enemy. 

On  the  10th  we  halted,  and  foragers  were  despatched 
in  three  different  directions  with  poor  results,  only  two 
days'  rations  being  procurable.  One  man,  named  Khalfan, 
had  been  wounded  in  the  wind-pipe  by  a  wooden  arrow. 
The  manner  he  received  the  wound  indicates  the  perfect 
indifference  with  which  they  receive  instructions.  While 
Khalfan  examined  the  plantains  above,  a  native  stood 
not  twenty  feet  away  and  shot  him  in  the  throat  with  a 
poisoned  arrow.  The  arrow  wound  was  a  mere  needle- 
point puncture,  and  Dr.  Parke  attended  to  him  with 
care,  but  it  had  a  fatal  consequence  a  few  days  later. 

The  nth  was  consumed  by  the  river  party  in 
struggling  against  a  wild  stretch,  five  miles  long,  of 
rapids,  caused  by  numerous  reefs  and  rocky  islets,  while 
the  land  column  wound  along  the  river  bank  on  a 
passable  track  which  led  them  to  Engwedde,  where  we 
rejoined  them  on  the  12th.  Our  day's  rate  having 
been  broken  by  the  rapids,  foragers  were  again  despatched 
to  collect  food,  and  succeeded  in  procuring  three  days' 
rations  of  plantains.  On  the  13th  we  marched  to 
Avisibl)a,  or  Aveysheba,  a  settlement  of  five  large 
villages,  two  of  which  were  situate  on  the  upper  side  of 
Ruku  Creek. 

The  river  column  was  the  first  to  occupy  tlie  villages 
above  the  Ruku.  A  fine  open  street  ran  between  two 
rows  of  low  huts,  each  hut  surrounded  by  its  tall 
palisades.  There  was  a  j^romising  al)undance  in  the 
plantain  groves  about.  The  untouched  forest  l)eypnd 
looked  tall,  thick,  and  old.  From  the  mouth  of 
the  creek  to  the  extremity  of  the  ^dllages  there  was  a 
hundred  yards'  thickness  of  primeval  forest,  through 
which  a  native  path  ran.  Between  the  village  and  the 
Aruwimi  was  a  belt  of  timber  fifty  yards  wide.     While 


174 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
All-.  13. 

Avisibba. 


the  ferriaofe  was  proOTessino;  across  the  creek,  the  boat- 
crew  was  searching  eagerly  and  carefully  among  the 
scores  of  courts  for  hidden  savages,  and  with  rifles  pro- 
jecting before  tliem  were  burrowing  into  the  plantain 
groves,  and  outside  the  villages. 

When  the  column  was  across  I  had  a  murder  case  to 
inquire  into.  For  on  the  12th,  at  Engwedde,  one  of  our 
Zanzibaris  had  been  killed  with  a  rifle  bullet  outside  of 
camp,  and  it  was  supposed  that  some  vengeful  ruffian 
in  the  column  had  shot  him.  Meantime,  I  had 
suggested  to  two  head  men  to  take  forty  scouts 
and  re-cross  the   creek,  to  explore    if  there  were    any 


l.KAK-IU.Mil': 


>!■'    AVISlllllA. 


op[)ortmiili('s  for  foi-ngiug  oji  tlic  next  day  to  the  south- 
west of  the  cicck.  Alv  little  court  had  just  sat  down 
r<)i-  I  lie  iii(|iiii\.  ;iihI  ;i  witness  was  relating  his  evidence, 
wlicii  tlic  rillcs  were  heard  firing  willi  unusual  energy. 
Ijieutciiaiil  Sl;iii-s  iiiiistered  some  lil'ty  men,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  I  lie  (joiilile  (|iii(k  lo  the  I'ivei'.  Under  the 
ini[)i'ession  llint  innety  breeeli  lo-ulers  were  (|uite  sufficient 
we  I'esumed  the  in\est ig.-ilion,  l»nt  ;is  \-olley  after  volley 
rang  out,  with  eoii(iniie(l  cr.icking  of  scouts'  rifles,  the 
I)oetor,  Nelson,  ;in<i  niNself  hnsteiied  to  the  scene 
with   a   few    moic,  men.       The    lirst    person    1    saw   was 


LIEUT.  STAJBFi   MOVNDKD  BY  A  POmONKD  A 11  ROW.     177 

Lieutenant  Stairs,  with  his  shirt  torn  open,  and  blood  i887. 
streaming  from  an  sirrow-wound  in  the  left  breast,  ^"^'  ^■"' 
about  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  I  heard  a  jjatter-  ^'''^'''^■" 
ing  on  the  leaves  around  me,  and  caught  a  glimpse 
of  arrows  flying  past.  After  consigning  our  poor  friend 
to  Parke's  care  I  sought  for  information.  There  were 
numbers  of  men  crouching  about,  and  firing  in  the 
most  senseless  fashion  at  some  suspicious  bushes  across 
the  creek.  There  w^ere  certainly  obstinate  savages 
hidden  behind  them,  but  I  failed  to  get  a  glimpse  of  one. 
The  creek  I  soon  found  lay  between  us.  I  was  told  that 
as  the  boat  was  crossing  the  creek  a  body  of  natives  had 
suddenly  issued  on  the  other  side  and  shot  their  arrows 
into  them  ;  that  surprised  by  the  discharge  they  had 
crouched  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  to  escape  the  arrows, 
and  had  paddled  the  boat  back  to  the  landing-place 
with  their  hands.  They  had  then  picked  up  their  rifles 
and  blazed  away  at  them.  Simultaneously  Lieutenant 
Stairs  had  rushed  in  among  them  and  fired  at  the 
enemy,  who  Avere  of  a  bolder  kind  than  any  they  had 
yet  met.  In  a  short  time  he  had  received  an  arrow  in 
the  breast,  which  he  had  torn  ofl"  while  retreating,  and 
five  other  men  had  been  punctured.  Almost  as  soon  as 
I  had  finished  receiving  these  particulars,  I  saw  for  the 
first  time  a  dark  shadow  creep  along  the  ground  between 
two  bushes,  and  fired  into  the  centre  of  it,  and  a 
curiously  weird  wail  responded  to  it.  Two  minutes 
later  the  arrows  had  ceased  their  patter  among  the 
leaves.  Having  posted  a  strong  guard  of  the  best  shots 
along  the  Ijank  to  observe  any  movement  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  creek,  the  rest  of  the  people  were  withdrawn. 

In  the  evening  some  scouts  that  had  searched  in  the 
woods  inland  returned  with  a  flock  of  seven  goats.  They 
had  discovered  the  crossing-place,  and  had  suddenly 
opened  fire  on  a  small  column  going  either  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  enemy  or  coming  from  their  direction. 

On  the  14th,  at  dawn,  pushed  over  the  creek  two 
companies  to  hunt  up  the  enemy  that  had  done  us  such 
damage  ;  a  company  was  also  sent,  under  Captain  Nelson, 
to  the  forest  inland.      In  a  few  minutes  we  heard  a  volley, 

VOL.    I.  M 


178 


IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887 
Aug.  U. 


and  a  second,  and  then  incessant  rifle  fire,  showing 
that  the  enemy  were  of  a  resolute  character.  1'here  were 
some  crack  shots  in  No.  1  Company,  but  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  do  much  damage  in  a  thick  bush  against  a  crafty 
enemy,  who  knew  that  they  possessed  most  dangerous 
weapons,  and  who  were  ignorant  of  the  deadly  force  of 
the  pellets  that  searched  the  bushes.  About  300  rounds 
had  been  fired,  and  silence  followed.  Four  only  of  these 
had  been  fatal,  and  our  party  received  four  wounds  from 
arrows  smeared  over  freshly  with  a  copal-coloured  suIj- 
stance.  One  dead  l)ody  was  brought  to  me  for  examin- 
ation. The  head  had  a  crop 
of  long  hair  banded  by  a 
kind  of  coronet  of  iron  ;  the 
neck  had  a  string  of  iron 
drops,  with  a  few  monkey 
teeth  among  them.  The 
teeth  were  filed  into  points. 
The  distinguishing  mark  of 
the  body  appears  to  form 
double  rows  of  tiny  cicatrices 
across  the  chest  and  abdomen. 
The  body  was  uncircumcised. 
Another  dead  body  brought 
to  the  landing-place  had  a 
necklace  of  human  teeth,  and 
a  coronet  of  shining  plated 
iron,  and  the  forehead  and 
several  wristlets  of  the  same 
metal,  polislicd  ;  on  ilic  left  arm  was  the  thick  pad  of 
silk  cotton  covered  with  goat  skin,  to  protect  the  arm 
from  tlic  bow  sti'ing. 

Aftf'i-  tlic  ii.ilJN'cs  had  l)cen  cluised  away  on  all  sides 
li<»iii  I  lie  \i(iiiit\-,  the  I  )Cople  commenced  to  forage,  and 
siiccc«'(|c(|  ill  l)riiiL;iiin-  to  Avisibba,  during  the  day 
sulli((;iit  j)laii(aiiis  to  give  eighty  \)vv  man—  four  days' 
rations, 

Licntcnaiit  Stairs'  wound  was  oiic-iiftli  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  an  inch  and  a  (|uart('r  ludow  the  heait,  and 
the  pointed  hca<l   of  ihc  aii-ow  had  penetrated  an  inch 


HKAD-UUKSS    OK    AVISIimA 
WAUHIDKS. 


Avisibba. 


THE  POISONED   ARROWS.  179 

and  a  half  deep.  The  other  men  were  wounded  in  the  i887. 
wrists,  arms,  and  one  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  back.  At  ^^^''^'^^' 
this  period  we  did  not  know  what  this  strange  copal- 
coloured  sul)stance  was  with  which  the  points  had  been 
smeared,  nor  did  we  know  what  were  its  peculiar  effects 
when  dry  or  wet ;  all  that  the  Doctor  could  do  at  this 
time  was  to  inject  water  in  the  wounds  and  cleanse  them. 
I^he  "  old  hands  "  of  the  Zanzibaris  afHrmed  it  was  poison 
extracted  from  the  India  rubber  (Landolphia)  1»y  boiling  ; 
that  the  scum  after  suthcient  boiling  formed  the  poison. 


COKONETED    AVISIBBA    WAUHIUK — HEAD-DRESS. 

A  native  declared  that  it  was  made  of  a  species  of  arum, 
which,  after  being  bruised,  was  boiled ;  that  the  water 
was  then  poured  out  into  another  pot,  and  boiled  again 
until  it  had  left  a  strono-  solution,  which  was  mixed  with 
fat,  and  this  was  the  substance  on  the  arrows.  The 
odour  was  acrid,  with  a  suspicion  of  asafoetida.  The  men 
proved  its  deadly  properties  by  remarking  that  elephants 
and  all  big  game  were  killed  by  it.  All  these  stories 
caused  us  to  be  very  anxious,  but  our  ignorance  was 
excessive,  I  admit.  We  could  only  look  on  with  wonder 
at  the  small  punctures  on  the  arms,  and  express  our 


Avisibba. 


180  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     opinion  that  sucli  small  wounds  could  not  be  deadly,  and 
Aug.  14.   i^^^pg^  f^j.  ^i^g   g;^]^p  (3f  ^^^^  friend   Stairs  and  our  nine 

wounded  men,  that  all  this  was  mere  exaggeration. 

The  arrows  were  very  slender,  made  of  a  dark  wood, 
twenty-four  inches  long,  points  hardened  by  slow  baking 
in  the  warm  atmosphere  above  the  hut  fires  ;  at  the  butt 
end  was  a  slit,  in  which  a  leaf  was  introduced  to  guide 
the  flight ;  the  sharp  points  were  as  sharp  as  needles, 
and  half  an  inch  from  the  point  began  a  curving  line  of 
notches  for  al)out  two  inches.  The  arrow  heads  were 
then  placed  in  the  prepared  and  viscid  su1)stance,  with 
wdiich  they  were  smeared  ;  large  leaves  were  then  rolled 
round  a  sheaf  before  they  were  placed  in  the  quiver. 
Another  suT)stance  was  pitch  black  in  colour,  and  appeared 
more  like  Stockholm  tar  when  fresh,  l)ut  had  a  very 
disagreeable  smell.  In  a  quiver  there  would  be  nearly 
a  hundred  arrows.  When  we  o1)served  the  care  taken 
of  these  arrows,  rolled  up  in  green  leaves  as  they  were, 
our  anxiety  for  our  people  was  not  lessened. 

The  bow  is  of  stu1)born  hard  brown  wood,  about  three 
feet  long ;  the  string  is  a  1)road  strip  of  rattan  carefully 
polished.  To  experiment  with  their  power  I  drove  one 
of  the  wooden  arrows,  at  six  feet  distance,  through  two 
sides  of  an  empty  biscuit  tin.  At  200  yards'  distance 
was  a  tall  tree.  I  drove  an  arrow,  with  full  force,  over 
the  top  of  the  highest  branch  and  beyond  the  tree.  It 
dawned  on  us  all  then  that  these  wooden  arrows  were 
not  the  contemptible  things  we  had  imagined.  At  a 
short  distance  we  judged,  from  what  wx  saw,  that  the 
still  spring  of  tliis  little  bow  was  sufficient  to  drive  one 
of  these  sicnilci' Ml  TOWS  clc.ni  through  ahumanl)ody.  At 
1  liO  paces  I  li;i\('  been  able  to  miss  a  bird  within  an  inch 
with  one  of  I  hem. 

Al  noon  on  ihe  l.')lh  ofAnLiiist  the  land  column  filed 
out  of  the  palisadcil  sillancs  of  Avisibl)a  led  by  Mr. 
.Ie[)hs()n,  the  oflieei-  of  the  (la\-.  As  a  captive  had 
iiifornie<l  us  I  hat  ihere  were  ihree  cataracts  ahead  not 
far  oil',  I  iii,-t  iiKleil  Air.  -b'phson  that  he  nuist  follow 
the  river  ami  hall  a!  ihe  first,  eoiiNcnient  spot  about 
2.30    P.M.;    ih.ii    I    wdiiM    halt    the   liver  column,  now 


WOODEN    ARROWS   OF   THE    AVrSTBBA. 

{From  a  pliotoyrnph.) 


182  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887.     consisting  of  the  boat  and  fourteen   canoes,  until    the 
Aug.  1.1.   j.g^^^.  guard  under  Captain  Nelson  had    quite    left   the 


Avisibba. 


settlement ;  but  as  the  canoes  would  proceed  faster 
than  the  land  caravan,  I  would  probably  overtake  him, 
and  camp  at  the  first  fit  place  I  could  find  after  an 
hour's  row,  in  which  event  he  would  proceed  until  he 
found  us.  The  instructions  were  also  repeated  to  the 
leading  men  of  the  pioneers, 

I  ought  to  have  stated  that  our  start  at  noon  was 
occasioned  by  the  delay  caused  by  the  discovery  at  the 
morning  muster  that  five  men  were  absent.  They  ulti- 
mately turned  up  at  10  o'clock;  but  this  perpetual 
straying  away  without  leave  was  most  exasperating, 
and  had  drawn  a  lecture  from  me,  though  this  was  not 
uncommon  in  those  stupid  early  days  of  training. 

The  Zanzibaris  persisted  in  exhibiting  an  indifference 
to  danger  al)solutely  startling,  not  from  bravery,  or 
from  ignorance  of  fear,  but  from  an  utter  incapacity  to 
remember  that  danger  existed,  and  from  a  stupid  un- 
consciousness as  to  how  it  affected  them.  Animals  arc 
indebted  to  instinct  as  a  constant  monitor  against 
danger,  but  these  men  appeared  to  possess  neither 
instin(;t  nor  reason,  neither  perception  nor  memory. 
Their  heads  were  uncommonly  empty.  The  most  urgent 
entreaties  to  beware  of  hidden  foes,  and  the  most  dread- 
ful tlireats  of  punishment,  failed  to  impress  on  their 
minds  the  necessity  they  were  under  of  being  prudent, 
wary,  and  alert  to  avoid  tlie  skewers  in  the  path,  the 
lurking  caiiuibal  behind  the  plantain  stalk,  the  cunning 
foe  lying  under  a  log,  or  behind  a  buttress,  and  the 
sunken  pit,  with  its  pointed  pales  at  the  bottom.  When 
the  danger  fronted  1  hem  it  found  them  all  unprepared. 
A  sudden  shower  ot"  ui'i'ows  sent  them  howling  abjectly 
out  of  reacli  m-  under  shelter;  and  if  the  arrows  were 
onlyfo]h)vved  l»y  a  rcsohite  advance,  resistance,  l)y  reason 
of  ex(H;ss  of  terror,  would  l»e  im[)ossil)le.  An  unexpected 
show  ol"  flauntlessncss  in  a  native  compelled  from  them 
;i  I'cady  reeognilioii  of  liis  eoui'age.  On  the  road  they 
sneaked  into  the  woods  to  avoid  the  rear  guard,  l)ut  Hew 
with    Iciror   if   a  prowling  savage   suddenly 


THE   FOR  AGING    OF    THE   ZANZJBARIS.  183 

rose  before  them  witli  uplifted  spear.  They  roved  far  i887. 
singly  or  by  twos  amongst  the  villages,  as  looting  was  dear  ^^'"\  ^''' 
to  their  hearts  ;  but  should  they  meet  the  wild  owners  of 
them  they  were  more  apt  to  throw  the  deadly  rifle  down 
on  the  ground  than  to  use  it.  They  strayed  through  the 
plantain  grove  with  magnificent  unconcern,  but  if  they 
heard  the  whiz  of  an  arrow  they  collapsed  nervelessly 
and  submitted  to  their  fate.  With  an  astounding  con- 
fidence they  scattered  along  the  road,  and  stretched  the 
line  of  the  column  to  3  miles  in  length,  but  at  sight  of 
natives  all  sense  was  lost  save  that  of  cowardly  fear. 
Out  of  370  men  at  this  time  in  the  camp  there  were 
clearly  250  of  this  description,  to  whom  rifles  were  of 
no  use  save  as  a  clumsy,  weighty  clulj,  which  they 
would  part  with  for  a  few  ears  of  corn,  or  would  willingly 
exchange  for  a  light  walking  stafl:'  if  they  dared. 

The  day  previous  the  Zanziljari  head  men,  urged  by 
their  friends,  had  appeared  before  me  in  a  body,  and 
demanded  to  be  despatched  to  forage  without  any 
ofticers,  as  the  officers,  they  said,  bored  them  with  their 
perpetual  orders  of  "  Fall  in,  fall  in."  "  Why,"  said  they, 
■'  who  can  gather  bananas  if  they  are  continually  watched 
and  told  to  '  Fall  in,  fall  in  ? '  " 

"  Very  true,"  said  I,  "  the  thing  is  impossible.  Let 
me  see  wdiat  you  can  do  by  yourselves.  The  banana  plan- 
tations are  but  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  distance.  I  shall 
expect  you  all  back  within  an  hour." 

After  such  an  exposition  of  character  as  the  above  it 
will  not  be  wondered,  that,  each  man  having  cleared 
from  my  presence,  forgot  all  his  promises,  and  wandered 
according  to  his  wont.  A  flock  of  sheep  or  a  herd  of 
swine  could  not  have  gone  further  astray.  After  fourteen 
hours'  absence  the  200  foragers  had  returned  save  five. 
These  five  had  departed  no  one  knew  where  until  10  a.m. 
of  this  day. 

Ah,  those  early  days  !  Worse  were  to  come,  and 
then,  having  become  purified  by  suffering,  and  taught 
by  awful  experience,  they  became  Romans  ! 

But  to  return  to  Jephson.  We  pulled  up  stream — after 
seeing  that  every  one  was  clear  of  the   settlement   of 


Avisibba. 


184  IN   DARKEST  AFlilVA. 

1887.  Avisibba — at  the  rate  of  a  knot  and  a  half  an  hour,  and 
a""  i!''  at  2.45,  having  discovered  a  convenient  camp,  halted  for 
the  nioht.  We  waited  in  vain  for  Mr.  Jephson,  and  the 
column  fired  signal  guns,  rowed  out  into  the  stream,  and 
w4th  a  glass  searched  the  shore  up  and  down,  but  there 
was  no  sign  of  camp-fire,  or  smoke  above  the  woods, 
which  generally  covered  the  forest  as  with  a  fog  in  still 
weather,  no  sound  of  rifle-shot,  blare  of  trumpet,  or 
human  voice.  The  caravan,  we  thought,  must  have 
found  a  fine  track,  and  proceeded  to  the  cataracts  ahead. 

On  the  16tli  the  river  column  pulled  hard  up  stream^ 
passed  Mabengu  villages,  came  up  to  a  deep  but  narrow 
creek  flowing  from  the  south  bank  into  the  Nevva,  as  the 
Aruwimi  was  now  called,  looked  anxiously  up  stream,  and 
an  hour  later  we  had  reached  the  foot  of  Mabengu  Rapids. 
On  the  right  Ijank,  opposite  to  where  we  selected  a 
camping-place,  was  a  large  settlement — that  of  Itiri. 
Then,  having  as  yet,  met  no  traces  of  the  absent  column, 
I  sent  boat's  crew  up  the  creek  to  search  for  traces 
of  fording.  After  ascending  several  miles  up  the  creek, 
the  boat's  crew  returned  unsuccessful ;  then  I  despatched 
it  back  again  to  within  half-an-hour's  distance  of 
Avisibba,  and  at  midnight  the  boat  returned  to  announce 
their  failure  to  find  any  traces  of  the  missing. 

On  the  I7tli  the  boat's  crew,  with  "Three  O'clock," 
the  hunter  (Saat  Tato),  and  six  scouts,  were  sent  to  our 
(camping-place  of  the  15th,  with  orders  for  the  hunter 
and  his  six  scouts  to  follow  the  path  observed  there- 
inland-  until  they  had  struck  the  trail  of  the  column, 
then  to  f()ll(AV  the  ti'ail  and  overtake  them,  and  return 
with  them  to  tlic  ii\ci'.  <  )ii  the  boat's  return,  the 
coxswain  inf()rnic(|  me  that  tlicy  had  seen  the  trail 
a))out  7  inih's  (;;  1 1  on  is'  maich).  1  concluded  that 
iMr.  ricplisoii  had  h'(l  his  column  south,  instead  of 
E.  })y  N.  and  Iv  N.  Iv,  accoi'diiig  to  coui'se  of  river,  and 
that  Saat  Tato  would  oxcrtakc  them,  and  return  next 
day. 

( )ur  coiKht  ion  al  the  liN'cr  camp  was  this.  We  had 
thirly-ninc  catiocmcn  ajid  boatiiK^n,  I vvcjily-eight  sick 
p('()pl(!,  tiircc  Europeans,  an<l  three  boys,  and  one  of  the 


■ 


Itin. 


OUR    CONDITION   AT  MABKNGU   IIATIDS.  187 

Europeans  (Lieutenant  Stairs)  was  suffering  from  a  dan-  i887. 
gerous  wound,  and  re(|uired  the  constant  care  of  the  sur-  "^"^^  ^'^' 
geon.  One  man  had  died  of  dysentery  at  Avisibba.  We 
had  a  dying  idiot  in  camp,  who  had  become  idiotic  some 
days  before.  We  liad  twenty-nine  suffering  from  pleurisy, 
dysentery,  incurable  debility,  and  eight  suffering  from 
wounds.  One  called  Khalfan  was  half  strangled  with 
the  wound  in  his  windpipe,  another  called  Saadi,  wounded 
in  the  arm,  appeared  dangerously  ill,  his  arm  was 
swollen,  and  gave  him  great  pain.  Out  of  the  thirty- 
nine  available  I  had  despatched  three  separate  parties 
in  different  directions  to  scout  for  news  of  the  missing 
column,  lest  it  was  striking  across  some  great  bend  to 
reach  the  river  a  long  distance  higher  up,  while  we,  unable 
to  stir,  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  curve.  Across  the 
river  the  people  of  Itiri,  perceiving  we  were  so  quiet  on 
our  side  of  the  river,  seemed  to  be  meditating  an  attack, 
and  only  two  miles  below  on  our  bank  was  the  large 
settlement  of  Mabengu,  from  whose  inhabitants  we 
might  hear  at  any  moment,  while  our  little  force  of 
thirty-nine  men,  scattered  in  various  directions,  were 
searching  for  the  missing  300.  But  the  poet  said  that 
it  became 

"  No  man  to  nurse  despair ; 
But  in  tlic  teeth  of  clenclied  antagonisms 
To  follow  the  worthiest  till  he  die." 

I  quote  from  my  diary  of  August  1 8th. 

The  idiot  fell  asleep  last  night.  His  troubles  are 
over,  and  we  have  buried  him. 

I  wonder  if  Tennyson  were  here,  who  wrote  such 
noble  lines,  what  he  would  think  of  our  state.  A  few 
days  ago  I  was  chief  of  370  men,  rich  in  goods,  munitions 
of  war,  medicines,  and  contented  with  such  poor  com- 
forts as  we  had,  and  to-day  I  have  actually  only  eighteeii 
men  left  fit  for  a  day's  march,  the  rest  have  vanished. 
I  should  be  glad  to  know  where. 

If  389  picked  men,  such  as  we  were  when  we  left 
Yambuya,  are  unable  to  reach  Lake  Albert,  how  can 
Major  Barttelot  with  250  men  make  his  way  through 
this  endless  forest.     We  have  travelled,  on  an  average, 


Itiri, 


188  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1387.  8  hours  per  day  for  forty-four  clays  since  leaving  Yam- 
Aug.  18.  )3uya.  At  two  miles  per  hour  we  ought,  by  this  date, 
to  have  arrived  on  the  Lake  shore,  but,  instead  of 
being  there,  we  have  accomplished  just  a  third  of  the 
distance.  The  poet  says  we  must  not  "  nurse  despair," 
for  to  do  that  is  to  lie  down  and  die,  to  make  no  effort, 
and  abandon  hope. 

Our  wounded  take  considerable  time  to  heal.  The 
swelling  is  increasing,  the  wounds  are  most  painful,  not 
one  has  yet  proved  fatal,  but  they  are  all  quite  incapa- 
citated from  duty. 

The  fifth  rain  of  this  month  beo;an  at  8  A.M.  Had  we 
not  enough  afflictions  without  this  perpetual  rain  1  One 
is  almost  tempted  to  think  that  the  end  is  approach- 
ing. The  very  "  flood  gates  of  heaven  "  seem  opened, 
and  nature  is  dissolving.  Such  a  body  of  rain  is 
falling  that  the  view  of  all  above  is  obscured  by  the 
amazing  fall  of  rain-drops.  Think  of  the  countless 
numbers  of  leaves  in  this  forest,  and  that  every  leaf 
drops  ten  to  twenty  times  per  minute,  and  that  from  the 
soaking  ground  rises  a  grey  cloud  of  minute  rain  in 
vapour,  and  that  the  air  is  full  of  floating  globules  of 
water  and  flying  slireds  of  leaves  !  And  add  to  all  this 
the  intense  fall  of  rain  as  the  blast  conies  bearino;  down 
the  top,  and  whips  drowning  showers  on  us,  and  sways 
the  countless  1  (ranches,  and  rushes  wailing  through  the 
glades  with  sudi  foi-ce,  as  tliough  it  would  wrench  the 
groaning  trees  out  of  tlie  earth.  The  moaning  and 
groaning  of  tlie  foi'cst  is  far  fi'oni  comf  )rting,  and  the 
crasliing  and  fall  of  niiglit\^  trees  is  far  fi'om  assuring, 
but  il  is  ;i  posit  i\('  tciToi'  wlicn  the  tlumder  rumbles 
above,  ;inil  its  souinis  reverl)ei'atinii:  throuirh  the 
aisles  ;in<l  ciooktMl  corridoi's  of  the  forest,  and  the 
bl;i/ing  MLiht  nihu  (L'lrts  spitcfulK'  hither  and  thither  its 
ibrky  tongues  ami  sheets  of  (lame,  and  explodes  over  oui' 
heads  with  o\'ei'whehning  an<l  (h'al'ening  shocks.  It  would 
be  a  vast,  I'clief  for  n\\v  sick  and  wounded  to  be  free  of 
such  sounds.  An  Pairopeaii  battle  has  no  such  variety. 
And  ihroughoiil  the  day  this  has  continued  unceasingly. 
It  is  now  about,  the  tenth  hour  of  t  he  day.     It  is  scarcely 


Itiri, 


PERPETUAL    RAIN   IN    THE    FOREST.  189 

possible  daylight  will  ever  appear  again,  at  least  so  I  ihh?. 
judge  from  the  human  faces  steeped  in  misery.  Their  ■^"-- '^• 
owners  appear  stupefied  by  terror,  woe,  sickness,  loss  of 
friends,  hunger,  rain  and  thunder,  and  general  wretched- 
ness. They  may  be  seen  crouching  under  plantain- 
leaf  sheds,  native  shields,  cotton  shelters,  straw  mats, 
earthen  and  copper  pots  above  their  heads,  even  saddles, 
tent  canvass  covers,  blankets,  each  body  wreathed  in 
])lue  vapour,  self-absorbed  with  speechless  anguish.  The 
poor  asses  with  their  ears  drawn  back,  inverted  eyes 
and  curving  backs,  captive  fowls  with  drooping  crests 
represent  al)ject  discomfort.  Alas  !  the  glory  of  this 
earth  is  quite  extinguished.  When  she  finally  recovered 
her  beauty,  and  her  children  assumed  their  proud 
bearing,  and  the  growing  lakes  and  increasing  rivers 
were  dried  up,  and  how  out  of  chaos  the  sun  rose 
to  comfort  the  world  again  I  know  not.  My  own 
feeling  of  misery  had  so  exhausted  me  that  a  long  sleep 
wrapped  me  in  merciful  oblivion. 

August  19th. — Still  without  news  of  land  caravan. 
The  scouts  have  returned  without  having  seen  any 
traces  of  the  missing.  Two  of  the  wounded  men  are 
doing  very  badly.  Their  sufferings  appear  to  be 
terrible. 

August  20th. — Still  without  news  of  caravan.  Young 
Saadi  wounded  by  a  poisoned  arrow  on  the  morning  of 
the  14th,  is  attacked  with  tetanus,  and  is  in  a  very 
dangerous  condition.  Wherefore  I  take  it  to  be  a 
vegetable  poison.  Khalfan's  neck  and  spine  have  become 
rigid.  I  have  given  both  morphine  by  injection,  but 
the  doses  though  double,  that  is  in  half  grains,  do  not 
appear  to  ease  the  sufferers  much.  Stairs  is  just  the 
same  as  yesterday,  neither  worse  nor  better.  The  wound 
is  painful,  still  he  has  appetite,  and  enjoys  sleep.  I  fear 
the  effect  on  him  of  knowing  what  the  other  patients  are 
undergoino-. 

It  is  strange  that  out  of  300  people  and  3  officers,  not 
one  has  sense  enough  to  know  that  he  has  lost  the  road, 
and  that  the  best  way  of  recovering  it  would  be  to 
retrace  their  steps  to  Avisibba  and  try  again. 


liiri. 


190  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  Augu.'^t  2lst. — PoorKlialfan  wounded  in  tlie  windpipe 
Aug.  21.  ^j^  ^Y\Q  lotli  instant,  and  the  young  fellow  Saadi  hurt  on 
the  morning  of  the  14th  ;  both  died  in  the  night,  after 
intolerable  agonies — one  at  4  a.m.,  Saadi  about  midnight. 
Khalfan's  wound  was  caused  by  a  poisoned  arrow ;  but 
the  poison  must  have  been  laid  on  the  arrow  some  days 
Ijefore  it  was  used.  He  had  been  daily  getting  weaker 
from  abstinence  from  food,  because  of  pain.  The  wound 
did  not  seem  dangerous  ;  it  had  closed  up,  externally, 
and  there  were  no  signs  of  inflammation  ;  but  the  poor 
fellow  complained  he  could  not  swallow.  He  had  sub- 
sisted on  liquid  food  made  of  plaintain  flour  gruel.  On 
the  8th  day  his  neck  became  rigid  and  contracted  ;  he 
could  not  articulate,  l)ut  murmur  ;  the  head  was  inclined 
forward,  the  abdomen  was  shrunk,  and  on  his  face 
lines  of  pain  and  anxiety  became  fixed.  Yesterday  he 
had  some  slight  spasms.  I  gave  two  injections  of 
half  a  grain  hypodermically,  which  relieved  him  for  an 
hour,  ])ut,  not  much  accustomed  to  treat  patients  with 
morphia,  I  feared  giving  larger  doses.  Saadi  was 
punctured  on  the  right  forearm,  midway  between  wrist 
and  elbow — a  mere  wound,  such  as  a  coarse  stocking 
needle  would  have  made.  The  wound  was  sucked  by  a 
(tomrade  ;  it  was  syringed  with  warm  water  and  dressed, 
but  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  he  was  attacked 
with  tetanus  of  so  severe  a  kind  that  his  case  was  hope- 
less from  our  sheer  inability  to  relieve  him  from  the 
frightful  spasms.  ]\lorphia  injections  rendered  him 
slightly  somnolent ;  but  the  spasms  contiimed,  and 
Saadi  died  on  tlif  I  I  llh  hour  after  i-eceivinij  the  wound. 
J  am  inclined  1<»  lliiiik  tliat  the  arrow  was  smeared  for 
the  fight  of  the  I  Itli  llic  night  previous. 

A  lliird  man  died  of  dysentery  Iteforc  noon,  making 
the  fourth  death  in  this  cjiinp. 

At  5  P.M.  the  caiJiwin  ;irii\c(l.  Its  sufferings  have 
])een  great  from  menial  disli-css.  T1i(M'(>  have  been  three 
deatlis  also  in  tlic  land  column.  Abiruf,  j)unctured  in 
should*')-,  died  dC  Iclanus  on  llic  night  of  the  19th,  24 
hours  earlier  than  Saadi.  This  may  have  been  due  to 
tlic    travel    ucceleratiug    the    action    of    the    poison, 


SUFFERINGS    OF  MEMBERS    OF    THE   CARAVAN.     191 

One  man  named  Ali  was  shot  by  an  ir()n-harl)e(l  i887. 
arrow,  and  died  of  internal  haemorrhage,  the  arrow  ^"s- -^• 
having  pierced  the  liver.  Another  succumhed  to 
dysentery  immediately  after  the  heavy  rain  which  had 
afflicted  us  on  the  18th;  thus  we  have  had  seven  fatal 
cases  since  the  14th.  We  have  several  others,  in  whom 
life  is  nickering.  The  column  brought  in  two  others 
wounded  by  arrows.  The  wounds  are  much  inflamed, 
and  exude  a  gangrenous  matter. 

Lieut.  Stairs  still  appears  hearty,  and  appears  as 
though  he  was  recovering,  despite  the  influence  these 
many  deaths  might  have  on  his  nerves.  The  surgeon 
having  appeared,  I  feel  an  intense  relief.  I  hate  to  see 
pain,  and  take  no  delight  in  sick  men's  groans.  I  feel 
pleasure  in  ministering  to  their  needs  only  when  con- 
scious I  can  cure. 

We  have  now  about  373  in  camp,  but  GO  of  them 
appear  fitter  for  a  hospital  than  to  continue  our  wander- 
ing life  ;  but  in  this  savage  region  not  even  rest  and 
food  can  be  secured  for  the  weary  souls. 

A  few  more  days  of  this  disheartening  work,  attend- 
ing on  the  sick,  looking  at  the  agonies  of  men  dying 
from  lockjaw,  listening  to  their  muffled  screams,  observ- 
ing general  distress  and  despondency,  from  hunger,  and 
the  sad  anxiety  caused  by  the  unaccountable  absence  of 
their  brothers  and  comrades,  with  the  loss  of  300  men 
impending  over  me  must  have  exercised  a  malign  influence 
over  myself  I  am  conscious  of  the  insidious  advance  of 
despair  towards  me.  Our  food  has  been  bananas  or 
plantains,  boiled  or  fried,  our  other  provisions  being  re- 
served for  perhaps  an  extreme  occasion  which  may  present 
itself  in  the  near  future.  The  dearest  passion  of  my  life 
has  been,  I  think,  to  succeed  in  my  undertakings  ;  but 
the  last  few  days  have  begun  to  fill  me  with  a  doubt  of 
success  in  the  present  one. 

What  the  feelings  of  the  officers  have  been  I  have  not 
heard  yet ;  but  the  men  have  frankly  confessed  that 
they  have  been  delivered  from  a  hell. 

The  following  note  has  just  been  placed  in  my 
hands  : — 


192 


IN  DAB K EST  AFHICA. 


1887. 
Aug.  21. 

Itiri. 


"  Dear  Sir, 


"  Arig^ist  1867. 


"  Saat  Tato  reached  us  at  3  p.m.  yesterday  witli  your  order  to 
follow  him.  We  at  once  recrossed  the  river  (the  creek  which  the  l)oat's 
crew  had  searches!)  and  hope  to  reach  you  to-night.  I  can  understood 
how  great  your  anxiety  must  have  been,  and  deeply  regret  having 
caused  it. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

"  &c.,         &c.,         &c. 

"  A.  M.  Jephson." 

On  the  22nd  we  moved  camp  to  the  foot  of  the 
highest  Mabengu  Rapids,  and  on  the  following  day  pro- 
ceeded above  the  rapids. 

I  then  took  the  opportunity  of  mustering  the  people. 
The  following  returns  tell  their  own  tale  : — 


Company  No.  1 

Captain  Stairs,  No.  2     . 

Captain  Nelson,  No.  8   . 

Captain  Jephson,  JNo.  i 

Europeans   . 

Boys    .         .         .  . 

Soudanese    . 

Somalis 

Cooks .         .  .  . 

Donkey  boy. 

Sick    '.  .         .         . 


Dead 


Healthy. 

6i) 
67 
63 

6 

12 
10 

6 

2 

1 
57 

878 
16 

389 


Sick. 

6 
11 
16 

21 


Dead. 

4 
5 
4 
8 


Loads. 

43 
50 

72 
72 


column  dnrino-  its  wanderings 


Tlic  experiences  of  tlu 
appealed  to  confirm  me  in  my  im})ressi()ns  that  tlie 
Aruwiini  in  llii.s  region  of  I'apids  was  not  so  much 
utilized  l)\-  the  natives  as  it  was  l)elo\v.  Larije  settle- 
mcnts  liad  Ixcn  discovered  iidand  ;  the  scouts  had 
travci'scd  the  loicst  ]»y  several  well-trodden  tracks 
whicli  led  Ji-oMi  tlie  ii\-cr  to  tlic  iiitvi'ior.  The  river 
hanks  were  not^  so  populous,  llic  settlements  were  now 
gen(!i-ally  a  liltic  way  inland,  and  along  the  river  bank 
was  a  perce))ril)lc  path  wliidi  materially  assisted  us. 
Ever  since  IcaA'ing  Tliri  \vc  had  notc(l  iJiis  fart.  On  the 
'24tli  we  travelled  ;i  few  miles,  and  camped  below  Avu- 
ga<lu    K'apids.  ne;ir  a  iidi    plantain    grove,  and    the   next 


7IIM    NFA'OKO    nrVER. 


198 


day  passed  the  rapids  and  formed  a  comf()rta])le  camp  in 
a  somewhat  open  portion  of  the  forest,  haunted  by 
fishermen.  On  the  26th  the  column  on  kind  swune" 
along  at  a  good  rate,  while  we  had  a  long  stretch  of  un- 
disturbed river,  and  had  to  pull  hard  to  keep  pace  with 
them  until  both  columns  met  in  one  of  the  largest 
villages  of  the  Avejeli  tribe  established  in  front  of  the 
Nepoko  mouth. 

This  latter  river,  of  which  Dr.  Junker  was  the  first  to 
inform  us,  and  which  he  had  crossed  far  up,  tumbled 
into   the  Aruwimi,  now  called   the   Itiri,  by  a  series  of 


1886. 
Aug.  26. 

Nepoko 
River. 


TUi;   KJil'UKO. 


cascades,  over  reefs  of  shaly  rock,  from  an  altitude .  of 
40  feet.  The  mouth  was  about  300  yards  wide,  narrow- 
ing to  about  250  yards  above  the  cascade.  The  natives 
had  staked  a  considerable  distance  of  the  reef,  to  which 
to  attach  their  large  funnel-shaped  baskets  for  the 
reception  of  the  fish  washed  down  the  rapids.  The 
colour  of  the  Nepoko  Avas  of  chocolate,  that  of  the  Itiri 
was  of  tea  and  milk. 

Had  I  known  that  one  week  later  I  should  have 
encountered  Arabs,  and  their  desperate  bands  of  Man- 
yuema,   there    is    no    doubt    that    I    should    have    en- 

VOL.  L  N 


194  IN  DARKEST  AFItlCA. 

1887.  tieavoured  to  put  a  degree  of  latitude  between  the 
Aug.  26.  (.g^^i,g  Qf  their  influence  and  our  route.  Even  as  it 
El?er.°  was,  I  mentally  debated  a  change  of  route,  from  some 
remarks  made  to  me  by  Binza  (Dr.  Junker's  Monbuttu 
boy),  who  suggested  that  it  w^ere  better  to  travel  througli 
lands  inhabited  by  "  decent  men,"  to  such  a  horrid 
region  infested  by  peoples  w^ho  did  not  deserve  the  name 
of  men  applied  to  them,  and  that  the  Momvu  tribes 
were  sure  of  according  a  welcome  to  those  who  could 
show^  in  return  that  they  appreciated  hospitality.  Binza 
was  most  enticing  in  his  descriptions  of  the  Momvu 
nation.  But  food  with  the  Avejeli  was  abundant  and 
various,  and  we  hoped  that  a  change  had  come  over  the 
land.  For  ever  since  we  had  observed  a  diflerence  in 
the  architecture  of  the  native  dwellings,  we  had  observed 
a  change  for  the  better  in  the  diet  of  the  people.  Below 
Panga  Falls  the  aborigines  principally  subsisted  on 
manioc,  and  on  tlic  dift'erent  breads,  puddings,  cakes, 
and  porridges  to  wliich  tliey  converted  these  tubers.  It 
will  not  be  forgotten,  perhaps,  that  tapioca  is  made 
out  of  manioc  or  cassava.  But  above  Panga  Falls 
manioc  liad  l)een  gradually  replaced  by  plantain  groves 
nn<l  the  plantain  is  a  much  more  excellent  edil)le  than 
manioc  for  an  expediticm,  and  the  groves  had  been 
clcai'ly  growing  into  higher  importance,  therefore  we 
hop('<l  that  happici-  days  were  in  store  for  us.  There 
Avcrc  also  lichls  of  Indian  coi'n,  inani()(^,  yams,  and  colo- 
<'assia,  ph)t.s  of  toba<-i-o  lor  the  smokers,  and  to  our  great 
joy  we  came  aci'oss  iiian\'  fowls.  A  halt  was  ordered 
tliat  the  sorcK'-l  lied  piM.pIc  might  rccnpcrate. 

In  llicii'  ^'('l•\'  cxcnsalilc  caL;criicss  lor  ineat  the  Za,nzi- 
bans  an<l  Sondaiicsc  were  \cr\'  reckless.  No  soonei'  was 
a  fowl  siLihted  than  I  here  was  a  genei'al  sci'aiid)le  lor  it; 
.some  i-eckl('ss  lellows  nse(|  their  j'iHes  to  shoot  the 
chickens,  and  man\'  a  cartridge  was  expended  uselessly 
for  which  due  |iiiiiL-^limcnl  was  rre<|iicnt  l\' awai'ded.  The 
oi'dei's  wei'c  mosi  |)osili\('  I  hat  iio  ammiinition  was  to 
b(;  wasted,  and  the  efloi'ts  ?nadc  to  detect  all  bi'eaches  oi' 
tli<'se  orders  were  most  energetic,  but  when  did  a  Zanzi- 
b;iri  ol»c\-  (iidi'i.;  when    awa\'    (roiii    Ins    einjdoyer's    eye  ^ 


RECKLESSNESti  OF  ZANZlllARJH  AND  SOUDANESE.       195 

The  indiscriminate  shooting  of  this  cky  resulted  in  the     i887. 
shooting   of  one    of   the  ])rcive  l)and  of  hard-working   ^"g- ^o. 
pioneers.     A  bullet  from  a  Winchester  struck  him  in  the    ^jivel? 
foot,  the  l)ones  of  which  were  pulverized  and  its  amputa- 
tion became  imperative.     Surgeon  Parke  performed  the 
operation  in  a  most  skilful  and  expeditious  manner,  and 
as  the  good  surgeon  w\as  most  resolute  wdien  "  one  of  his 
cases  "  required  care — this  unfortunate  *  young  man  had  . 
to  be  lifted  in  and  out  by  eight  men,  must  needs   have 
the  largest  share  of  a  canoe  that  nothinof  mitiht  offend 
the  tender  wound,  and  of  necessity  required  and  received 
the  most  bounteous  supply  of  the  best  food  and  to  have 
servants  to  wait  upon  him — in  short,  such  a  share  of 
good  things  and  ready  services  that  I  often  envied  him, 
and  thought  that  for  a  sixpence  in  addition  I  would  not 
mind  exchanging  places  with  him. 

Of  course  another  severe  lecture  followed,  and  there 
were  loud  protestations  that  they  would  all  pay  implicit 
attention  in  the  future,  and  of  course  before  the  next 
day  every  promise  was  forgotten.  There  is  much  to  be 
said  for  these  successive  breaches  of  promise.  They 
relieve  the  mind  from  vast  care  and  all  sense  of  respon- 
sil)ility.  No  restraint  burdens  it,  and  an  easy  gladness 
brightens  the  face.  Why  should  a  man,  being  an  animal, 
continually  fetter  himself  with  obligations  as  though  he 
were  a  moral  being  to  be  held  accountable  for  every  idle 
word  uttered  in  a  gushing  moment  ? 

On  the  28th  the  river  column  consisting  now  of  the 
Advance  steel  boat  and  sixteen  canoes,  pushed  up  river 
to  a  camp  five  miles  above  Avejeli.  The  land  party  was 
left  far  behind,  for  they  were  struggling  through  a  series 
of  streams  and  creeks,  and  buried  in  depths  of  suffo- 
catingly close  bush,  and  did  not  arrive  until  the  next 
day  at  noon,  wlien  they  were  urged  to  proceed  about 
two  hours  higher,  whither  we  followed  them. 

We   arrived  at  the  foot  of  a  big  cataract  on  the  30th, 

*  Was  he  very  unfortunate  ?  I  paid  Ugarrowwa  for  thirteen  months' 
board,  sent  him  to  Stanley  Falls,  thence  down  the  Congo  and  liy  sea  to 
Madeira,  via,  the  Cape  to  Zanzibar,  where  he  arrived  iu  a  state  well 
described  by  "  as  fat  as  butter." 


196  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887      and  by  ol^servation   ascertained   that   we    had   reached 
Aus.  30.  halfway  to  the  Albert  Lake,  Kavalli  being  in  30'  30'  and 
River"    Yambuya  in  25°  2>l'.      Our  camj^  on  this  day  was  in  about 
27°  47'. 

We  had  163  geographical  miles  in  an  air  line  to  make 
yet,  which  we  could  never  accomplish  within  64  days  as 
we  had  performed  the  western  half  of  the  route.  The 
people  were  in  an  impoverished  state  of  body,  and 
mentally  depressed,  ulcers  Avere  raging  like  an  epidemic, 
an^iemia  had  sapped  their  vitality.  They  were  told  the 
half-way  camp  was  reached,  but  they  replied  with 
nuirmurs  of  unl)elief  They  asked,  "  How  can  the  master 
tell  ?  AVill  that  instrument  show  him  the  road  ?  Will 
it  tell  him  which  is  the  path  ?  Why  does  it  not  tell  us, 
then,  that  we  may  sec  and  l)elieve  ?  Don't  the  natives 
know  their  own  country  better?  Which  of  them  has 
seen  grass  ?  Do  thev  not  all  say  that  all  the  world  is 
covered  with  trees  and  thick  bush  ?  Bah — tlie  master 
talks  to  us  as  tli(nigh  we  were  children  and  had  no 
proper  perception." 

The  moniinii:  of  the  evil  date,  Auc^ust  31st,  dawned  as 
oil  otlicr  days.  It  struggled  through  dense  clouds  of 
mist,  aii<l  filially  about  9  o'clock  the  sun  appeared,  pale, 
indistinct,  a  mere  circle  of  lustreless  light.  But  in  the 
meantime  we  were  hard  at  our  fretpient  task  of  cutting  a 
broad  lii'jliway  throu^li  the  bush  and  forest,  through 
wliicli  the  boat  could  ])e  carried  bodily  by  60  men, 
standiii^L!,  uiidcnicath  ;  tlie  crew  of  the  flotilla  were 
wrestling  willi  tlic  mad  watci's,  and  shoving  their 
vessels  up  steep  slopes  of  a  racing  river. 

^riic  highway  was  finislusl  in  an  h(jur,  and  a  temjwrary 
c.inip  was  locatcil  ;ibo\('.  The  canoes  began  to  arrive. 
J  WAl  the  Doctoi-  to  superintend  the  pioneers  bearing  the 
boat,  but  he  preseiilly  icliiiiied  to  report  that  the  boat 
(•oiild  not  be  lil'iiMl.  i  icii;icc(l  my  steps  to  oversee  the 
opei'al  ion  personally.  I  had  succeeded  in  conveying  it 
hair  way  when  my  l*]iifope,an  sei'vant  came  running  at  a 
nia<l  |)ace,  crying  out  as  Ik;  ran  :  "  8ir,  oji,  sir,  Emin 
I'aslia  has  anlved." 

"Emin  Basha  1  " 


MANYUEMA  MISTAKEN  FOR  EMTN  AND  FOLLOWERS.     199 

"  Yes,  sir.      L  luivc  seen  him  in  a  canoe.      Ilis  red  flan;,      i887. 
like  ours  (the  E,ii;yptian),  is  hoisted  up  at  the  stern.      It    •^'"■?- •'^'■ 
IS  quite  true,  sn- !  Kiver^ 

Of  course  we  bounded  forward  ;  the  boat  was  dropped 
as  thouo;h  it  was  red  hot.  A  race  beQ:an,  master  and 
man  striving  for  the  lead.  In  the  camp  the  excitement 
was  also  general.  It  was  owing,  we  soon  heard,  to  the 
arrival  of  nine  Manyuema,  who  served  one  called  Uledi 
Balyuz,  known  to  natives  by  the  name  of  Ugarrowwa, 
and  who  was  reported  to  be  settled  about  eight  marches 
up  river,  and  commanding  several  hundred  armed 
men. 

The  Arabs  were,  then,  so  far  inland  on  the  Upper 
Aruwimi,  and  I  had  flattered  myself  that  I  had  heard 
the  last  of  these  rovers  !  We  were  also  told  that  there 
were  fifty  of  them  camped  six  miles  above  on  their  way,  by 
orders  of  Ugarrowwa,  to  explore  the  course  of  the  river,  to 
ascertain  if  communication  with  Stanley  Falls  could  be 
obtained  by  the  unknown  stream  on  whose  banks  they 
had  settled. 

We  imparted  the  information  they  desired,  whereupon 
they  said  they  would  return  to  their  camp  and  prepare 
for  a  hospitable  reception  on  the  morrow.  The  Zanzi- 
baris  were  considerably  elated  at  the  news,  for  what 
reason  may  shortly  be  seen. 

The  first  absconder  was  one  Juma,  who  deserted  with 
half  a  hundredweio'ht  of  biscuit  that  nioht. 

On  the  Lst  September,  in  the  early  morning,  we  were 
clear  of  the  rapids,  and,  rowing  up  in  company  with  the 
caravan,  were  soon  up  at  the  village  where  the  Manyuema 
were  said  to  be  camped.  At  the  gate  there  was  a  dead 
male  child,  literally  hacked  to  pieces  ;  within  the  pal- 
isades was  a  dead  woman,  who  had  been  speared.  The 
Manyuema  had  disappeared.  It  seemed  to  us  then  that 
some  of  our  men  had  damped  their  joy  at  the  encounter 
with  us,  by  suggesting  that  the  slaves  with  them  might 
probably  cause  in  us  a  revulsion  of  feeling.  Suspicion 
of  this  caused  an  immediate  change  in  their  feelings. 
Their  fears  impelled  them  to  decamp  instantly.  Their 
society    was    so    much     regretted,     however,    that    five 


200  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     Zaiizil^niis,    tnkiiig  five  loads,   four   of  ammonition  and 
Sept  1.    ^j^^  ^£  g^i^^  disappeared. 

liher."  We  resumed  our  journey,  and  halted  at  the  base  of 
another  series  of  rapids. 

The  next  day  Saat  Tato,  having  explored  the  rapids, 
reported  encouragingly,  and  expressed  his  confidence 
that  without  much  difficulty  these  could  also  be  sur- 
mounted. This  report  stimulated  the  boatmen  to  make 
another  trial.  While  the  river  column  was  busy  in  its 
own  peculiar  and  perilous  work,  a  search  party  was 
despatched  to  hunt  news  of  the  missing  men,  and 
returned  with  one  man,  a  box  of  ammunition,  and  three 
rifles.  The  search  party  had  discovered  the  deserters  in 
the  forest,  with  a  case  of  ammunition  open,  which  they 
were  distributing.  In  trying  to  surround  them,  the 
deserters  became  alarmed  and  scudded  away,  leaving 
three  of  their  riiies  and  a  case  behind  them. 

On  the  3rd  of  September  five  more  deserted,  carrying 
away  one  case  of  Remington  cartridges,  one  case  of 
Winchester  cartridges,  one  box  of  European  provisions, 
and  one  load  of  fine  Arab  clothing,  worth  £50.  Another 
was  detected  with  a  box  of  provisions  open  before  him, 
having  already  abstracted  a  tin  of  sago,  one  tin  of 
Liebioc  a  tin  of  l)utter,  and  one  of  milk.  Ten  men  had 
thus  disappeared  in  a  couple  of  days.  At  this  rate,  in 
sixty  days  the  Expedition  would  be  ended,  I  consulted 
the  chiefs,  but  I  could  gain  no  encouragement  to  try 
what  extreme  measures  would  effect.  It  was  patent, 
however,  to  the  dullest  that  we  should  l)e  driven  to 
resort  to  extremities  soon  to  sto])  this  wholesale  desertion 
and  theft.  Si)i('(>  IcuAiiig  ^'alllbuya  we  had  lost  foi'ty- 
cight  I'illcs  and  lil'tccn  cases  of  Maxim,  Winchester,  and 
Ilcmington  aniinunit  ion. 

The.  day  following  iDur  men  dcsei'ted,  and  one  was 
c.'Mi'jht  in  (he  ;ict  of  dcscit  ion.  The  people  were  accord- 
ingly nnist('r('(l,  and  sixt\  men,  sns])ected  of  being 
<';ipa})l(' of"  dcscrlion,  as  no  licid  man  \voul<l  guarantee 
tJicir  fidebty,  were,  icndcivd  lidpless  l)y  a1)stracting  the 
mainsprings  of  (he  lillcs,  wiiidi  we  took  and  locked  up. 
J )cmorulisation  hud  set  in  rapidly  since  we  had  met  the 


W HOLES AIJ':   DESERTIONS    AND    THEFTS.  201 

Maiiyuema.     Notliiiig  \v;is  safe  in  their  liands.      Boxes     \?at. 
had  been  opened,  cloth  had  been  stolen,  beads  had  been    ^^'''-  ^• 
pilfered,  much  ammunition  had  been  taken  out  of  the    R^ver," 
cases,  and  either   thrown,  or  secreted  as  a  reserve,  by 
the  way. 

On  September  5th  we  camped  near  Hippo  Broads,  so 
called  because  the  river  w\as  fine  and  broad,  and  a  large 
herd  of  hippopotami  were  seen.  The  site  of  our  resting 
place  was  an  a})andoned  clearing,  wdiich  had  become  the 
haunts  of  these  amphibian,  and  exquisite  bits  of  green- 
sward caused  us  to  imagine  for  a  moment  that  possil)ly 
the  open  country  was  not  far.  Foragers  returned  after 
a  visit  into  the  interior,  on  both  banks,  with  four  goats 
and  a  few  bananas,  numbers  of  roast  rats,  cooked  beetles, 
and  slugs.  On  the  6tli  we  reached  a  cataract  opposite 
the  Bafaido  settlement,  where  we  ol)tained  a  respectable 
supply  of  plantains.  The  day  following  w^e  dragged 
our  canoes  over  a  platform  of  rock,  over  a  projecting 
ledge  of  which  the  river  tuml)led  10  feet. 

From  the  Bafaido  cataract  we  journeyed  along  a 
curving  river  to  Avakubi  Rapids,  and  formed  a  camp  at 
the  landing-place.  A  path  led  hence  into  the  interior, 
which  the  hungry  people  soon  followed.  While  scouring 
the  country  for  food,  a  woman  and  child  were  found, 
who  were  brought  to  me  to  be  examined.  But  the 
cleverest  interpreter  was  at  fault.  No  one  understood  a 
syllable  of  the  meaningless  babble. 

Some  more  rapids  were  reached  the  next  day.  We 
observed  that  the  oil-palm  flourished  throughout  this 
section. 

Palm  nuts  were  seen  in  heaps  near  each  village.  We 
even  discovered  some  palms  lately  planted,  which 
showed  some  regard  for  posterity.  Achmet,  the  Somali, 
who  had  insisted  on  leaving  Yambuva,  in  accom- 
panymg  us  had  been  a  passenger  ever  since  we  had 
struck  the  river  above  Yankonde',  was  reported  to  be 
dying.  He  w^as  said  to  sufier  from  melanosis.  What- 
ever the  disease  might  be,  he  had  become  singularly 
emaciated,  being  a  literal  skeleton  covered  lightly  w^ith 
skin. 


202 


IN   nAUKKST  AFinCA. 


1887.  From   tliis  camp  we  rounded  a  point,  passed   over  a 

Sept.  5.    g]j,3j,^  winding  course  of  river,  and  in  an  hour  approached 

filver."  in  view  of  an  awful  raging  stream  choked  by  narrow 
banks  of  shale.  The  outlook  beyond  the  immediate 
foreview  w^as  first  of  a  series  of  rolling  weaves  whirling 
and  tossed  into  spray,  descending  in  succeeding  lines, 
and  a  great  fall  of  about  30  feet,  and  above  that  a 
steep  slope  of  wild  rapids,  and  the  whole  capped  with 
mist,    and    tearing    down    tumultuously    towards    us. 


This  was  appalling  consider- 
ing the  state  of  the  column. 
There  were   about   120   loads 
ill    (lie    canoes,   and  between 
fifty  and  sixty  sick  ;iii(l  rccMc  jx'ople.     'i'o  leave  these  in 
t, lie  woods  to  tlicir  r;ilc  \v;is  iin])<)ssible,  to  carry  the  loads 
and  advance  appc;in'<l  ciiualh'  so;  yet  to  drag  the  canoes 
and    bear   llic     bo.it    ]);isl    siidi   a   long   stretch    of  wild 
watei-  ap|)cai-c(l  lo  l)e  a  lask  b'-xoiid  oiir  utmost  powers. 
Ijcavinii-  tlic  \-csscls  Im-Iow    (lie    (nils   and   rapids,  I   led 
tlic  Ivxjx'dil  ion  i»\-  l;iii<l    l<»   llir  dcslroyed   settlement  of 
Navabi,   sitiiiitc<l    nc;ir  ;i     'iciid    of   I  lie    Jtiri    (Aruwimi) 
above    the    disliiibcil     slic.ini,    wlicic    vvc    established    a 


CAMP   AT  NAVABT. 


203 


camp.      Tlic  sick  diJig^cMl   tluMnselves  nfter  tlie  caravan,     i887 
those  too  feeble  and  helpless  to  travel  the  distance  were    ^*'''^'  ^ 
lifted  up  and  borne  to  the  camp.    Officers  then  mustered    ^'*^^^'- 
the  companies  for  the  work  of  cutting  a  broad  highway 
through  the  bush  and  hauling  the  canoes.     This  task 
occupied  two  whole  days,  while  No.  1  Company  foraged 
far    and    near    to    obtain    food,    but   with  only    partial 
success. 

Navabi   must    have    been    a    remarkable    instance  of 
aljoriginal    prosperity    once.       It    possessed    groves    of 


AITAOKING    AN    ELEPHANT    IN    THE   ITLBI   KlVLll. 

the  elais  and  plantain,  large  plots  of  tobacco  and 
Indian  corn  ;  the  huts  under  the  palms  looked  almost 
idyllic  ;  at  least  so  we  judged  from  two  which  were  left 
standing,  and  gave  us  a  bit  of  an  aspect  at  once  tropical, 
pretty,  and  apparently  happy.  Elsewhere  the  whole 
was  desolate.  Some  parties,  which  we  conjectured  be- 
longed to  Ugarrowwa,  had  burnt  the  settlement,  chopped 
many  of  thepalms  down,  levelled  the  banana  plantations, 
and  strewed  the  ground  with  the  bones  of  the  defenders. 
Five  skulls  of  infents  were  found  within  our  new  camp  at 
Navabi. 


lemberri. 


204  TN   DARKEST  AFRTCA 

1887.  On   the   12th,   as  we   resinned   our  journey,  we  were 

M^!l*.  ^"  compelled  to  leave  five  men  who  were  in  an  un- 
conscious state  and  dying.  Achmet,  the  Somali,  whom 
we  had  borne  all  the  way  from  Yambuya,  was  one 
of  them. 

From  Navabi  we  proceeded  to  the  landing  place  of 
Memberri,  which  evidently  was  a  frequent  haunt  of 
elephants.  One  of  these  not  far  off  was  observed 
bathing  luxuriously  in  the  river  near  the  right  bank. 
Hungry  for  meat,  I  was  urged  to  try  my  chance.  On 
this  Expedition  I  had  armed  myself  with  the  Express 
rifles  of  577-bore,  which  Indian  sportsmen  so  much 
applaud.  The  heavy  8 -bores  were  with  Major  Barttelot 
and  Mr.  Jameson.  I  succeeded  in  planting  six  shots  in 
the  animal  at  a  few  yards  distance,  but  to  no  purpose 
except  to  unnecessarily  wound  him. 

At  Memberri  we  made  a  muster,  and  according  to 
returns  our  numbers  stood  ; — 

August,  28r(l 373  men. 

September  12th  .....     843  men. 

14  deserted  and  16  deatlis ;  oarriers  235  •  loads  227  ;  sick  58 

Added  to  these  elorpient  records  every  member  of  the 
Exj)editi()n  suifered  from  hunger,  and  the  higher  we  as- 
ceii<li«l  the  means  for  satisfying  the  ever-crying  want  of 
food  ap[)<'ared  to  diminish,  for  the  Bakusu  and  ]3asongora 
slaves,  under  the  jManyuema.  head  men  of  l^gai-rowwa, 
had  destroyed  llie  plaiifat ions,  and  either  driven  the 
populations  to  unknown  I'ecesses  in  the  forest  or  luul 
cxtii]»al('(l  them. 

( )n  llie  following  day  we  reached  Amiri  Falls.  The 
previous  day  tlie  head  man,  Saadi,  had  been  reproached 
for  leaving  one  naine(l  .M;ikiipete  to  I'cturn  along  the 
Iraek  1o  se.'iri'h  lor  ;i  box  of  .•iinnninition  that  was 
repoi-ted  to  be  missing,  whei'eupoii  Saadi  took  the 
unwise  I'esojulion  <»f"  ])roeee(ling  to  hunt  up  l\laku})ete'. 
TIhmi  one.  I'le<li  .M.I nga,  disgusted  with  the  severe  work 
and  Tnelaiieholy  |»rospee(  belure  us.  absconded  with 
another  box  of  atnniunil  ion. 


IVh'    liKACn    UaARROWWA  S    STATION.  205 

Wo.  li;i(l  only  tliree  Zanzibari  donkeys  left.      Out  of     18H7. 
the  six  with  which  we  had  started  from  Yambuya,  one  ''^''''*-  ^^ 
of  the   three,  prol)al)ly  possessed   with  a   presentiment     Fan's' 
that  the  caravan  was  doomed,  took  it  into  his  head  that 
it  was    Ijetter    to   return  before    it    was  too    late,   and 
deserted  also.     Whither  he  went  no  one  knew.     It  is 
useless  to  search  in  the  f(3rest  for  a  lost  man,  donkey, 
or  article.      Like  the  waves  divided  by  a  ship's  prow 
uniting  at  the  stern,  so  the  forest  enfolds  past  finding 
within  its  deep  shades  whatsoever  enters,  and  reveals 
nothing. 

Near  a  single  old  fishing  hut  our  camp  was  pitched 
on  the  15tli.  The  river  after  its  immense  curve  north- 
ward and  eastward  now  trended  south-easterly,  and  we 
had  already  reached  S.  Lat.  1°  24'  from  1°  58'. 

Having  been  in  the  habit  of  losing  a  box  of  ammu- 
nition per  diem  for  the  last  few  days,  having  tried 
almost  every  art  of  suppressing  this  robbery,  we  now 
had  recourse  to  lashing  the  boxes  in  series  of  eights,  and 
consigning  each  to  the  care  of  a  head  man,  and  holding 
him  responsible  for  them.  This  we  hoped  would  check 
the  excuse  that  the  men  disappeared  into  the  forest 
under  all  kinds  of  wants. 

On  the  IGth  of  September,  while  halting  for  the  mid- 
day rest  and  lunch,  several  loud  reports  of  musketry 
were  heard  up-river.  I  sent  Saat  Tato  to  explore,  and 
in  half-an-hour  we  heard  three  rifle-shots  announcing 
success  ;  and  shortly  after  three  canoes  besides  our  own 
appeared  loaded  with  men  in  white  dresses,  and  gay 
with  crimson  flags.  These  came,  so  they  reported,  to 
welcome  us  in  the  name  of  Ugarrowwa,  their  chief,  who 
would  visit  my  evening  camp.  After  exchanging  com- 
pliments, they  returned  up-river,  firing  their  muskets 
and  singing  gaily. 

At  the  usual  hour  we  commenced  the  afternoon  march, 
and  at  4  P.M.  were  in  camp  just  below  Ugarrowwa's 
station.  At  the  same  time  a  roll  of  drums,  the  boom- 
ing of  many  muskets,  and  a  flotilla  of  canoes,  announced 
the  approach  of  the  Aral)  leader.  About  50  strong, 
robust    fellows    accompanied  him,   besides    singers    and 


206  IN   DAllKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     women,  every    one    of    whom    was  in  prime    condition 

Fall's.'  The  leader  gave  his  name  as  Ugarrowwa,  the  Zanzibar 
term  for  "  Luahiba,"  or  native  name  of  "  Kuarawwa," 
known  formerly  as  Uledi  Balyuz  (or  the  Consuls 
Uledi).  He  had  accompanied  Captains  Speke  and  Grant, 
1860-3,  as  a  tent-bov,  and  had  been  left  or  had  de- 
serted in  Qnvoro.  He  offered  as  a  ffift  to  us  two  fat 
goats  and  al)out  40  lbs.  of  picked  rice,  a  few  ripe 
plantains,  and  fowls. 

Upon  asking  him  if  there  was  any  prospect  of  food 
being  obtained  for  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of  his 
station,  he  admitted,  to  our  sorrow,  that  his  followers  in 
their  heedless  way  had  destroyed  everything,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  check  them  because  they  were  furious 
against  the  "  pagans "  for  the  bloody  retaliation  and 
excesses  the  aborigines  had  committed  against  many 
and  many  of  their  countrymen  during  their  search  for 
i\ory. 

Asked  what  country  we  were  in,  he  replied  that  we 
were  in  ]>unda,  the  natives  of  which  were  Babunda  ; 
tliat  the  people  on  the  north  bank  in  the  neighljourhood 
of  his  station  were  called  Bapai  or  Bavaiya, 

He  also  said  that  his  raiders  had  gone  eastward  a 
month's  journey,  and  had  seen  from  a  higli  hill  (Kasso- 
li'lo  '.),  a  grassy  country  extending  to  the  eastward, 

I'urther  infoi'mation  was  to  the  cH'ect  that  his  caravan, 
(100  strong,  liad  left  the  liUalaba  at  Kil)()ngcs  (above 
Leopold  II.),  and  ihal  ju  liinc  moons  li<>  ]iad  travelled  the 
distance  of  'MO  geographical  iniles,  al)out  a  N.E.  course, 
t lii-oiigiionl  conlinnoiis  jorcst  witliout  haviiig  seen  as 
much  'jrass  as  wniiM  cover  llie  j)alin  of  ]iis  liand  ;  that 
lie  had  onI\'  c|-<,sse<l  one  jiNcr.  Ilie  Jandi,  l)cJ"oi'e  he 
sighted  the  It  mi,  as  ih''  Aniwinii  was  now  calh'd;  that 
lie  had  heard  from  Aiali  liaih'rs  that  the  ladu  ( I iOWWa) 
rose  li'om  a  small  lake  caljeil  the  (  >/o,  where  there  was 
H  vast  ((Maiit  it  v  of  i\-oi\ . 

I'oiir  da\,-  hi'jher  I  -jarrowwa  possessecj  another  station 
manned  wilh  100  guns.,  near  liic  |,en(hi  I'iver,  a  tribu- 
tiiry  of  the   Aruwjmi,  wliieh   entered   it   from  the  south 


VISIT    TO    TIIK   All  A II    SETTLEMENT.  2U7 

bank.     His  people  luul  sown  rice,  of  which  lie  liad  hrouglit     1887. 
us  some,  and  onions  ;    but  near  each  settlement  was  a  ^'^''*-  ^''• 
waste,  as  it  was  not  policy  to  |)ermit  such  "  murderous     y^l^ 
pagans  "  to  exist  near  them,  otherwise  he  and  his  people's 
lives  were  not  safe.     He  had  lost  about  200  men  of  the 
Bakusu  and  Basangora  tribes,  and  many  a  fine  Manyuema 
headman.      One  time  he  had  lost  40,  of  whom   not  one 
had  returned.    He  had  an  Arab  guest  at  his  station  who 
had  lost  every  soul  out  of  his  caravan. 

I  observed  a  disposition  on  his  part  to  send  some 
men  with  me  to  the  Lake,  and  there  appeared  to  be  no 
difficulty  in  housing  with  him  my  sick  men  for  a  con- 
sideration— to  be  hereafter  agreed  upon. 

On  the  17th  we  proceeded  a  short  distance  to  encamp 
opposite  Ugarrowwa's  station. 

In  the  afternoon  I  was  rowed  across  in  my  boat  to  the 
Aral)  settlement,  and  "was  hospitably  received.  I  found 
the  station  to  be  a  large  settlement,  jealously  fenced 
round  \vith  tall  palisades  and  short  planks  lashed  across 
as  screens  against  chance  arrows.  In  the  centre,  facing 
the  river,  was  the  house  of  the  chief,  commodious,  lofty, 
and  comfortable,  the  walls  of  M'hicli  were  pierced  for 
nuisketry.  It  resembled  a  fort  with  its  lofty  and 
frow^ning  walls  of  baked  clay.  On  passing  through  a 
passage  which  separated  Ugarrowwa's  private  apart- 
ments from  the  public  rooms,  I  had  a  view^  of  a  great 
court  GO  feet  square,  surrounded  by  buildings  and  filled 
with  servants.  It  suggested  something  baronial  in  its 
])usy  aspect,  the  abundant  service,  the  great  difference 
of  the  domestics,  amplitude  of  space,  and  plenty.  The 
place  was  certainly  impregnable  against  attack,  and, 
if  at  all  sj^iritedly  defended,  a  full  battalion  Avould  have 
been  necessary  to  have  captured  this  outpost  of  a  slave 
trader. 

I  was  informed  that  the  river  for  many  days'  march 
appeared  to  flow  from  the  eastward ;  that  the  Ihuru,  a 
considerable  distance  up,  flowed  from  the  northward  and 
joined  the  Ituri,  and  that,  besides  the  Lenda,  there  was 
another  affluent  called  the  Ibina,  which  entered  from  the 
south. 


20S  JN    DAL'KFST  AFJIICA. 

1887.  Suiiievvliere  higher  up  also, — vaguely  given  as  ten  days' 

Sept.  17.  1^^  others  twenty  days'  march, — another  Arab  was  settled 
^wa^'s^"  who  was  called  Kilonga-Longa,  though  his  real  name  was 
station,    also  Uledi. 

At  this  settlement  I  saw  the  first  specimen  of  the 
tribe  of  dwarfs  who  were  said  to  be  thickly  scattered 
north  of  the  Ituri,  from  the  Ngaiyu  eastward.  She 
measured  thirty-three  inches  in  height,  and  was  a  per- 
fectly formed  young  woman  of  about  seventeen,  of  a 
glistening  and  smooth  sleekness  of  body.  Her  figure 
was  that  of  a  miniature  coloured  lady,  not  wanting  in  a 
certain  grace,  and  her  face  was  very  prepossessing.  Her 
complexion  was  that  of  a  quadroon,  or  of  the  colour  of 
yello\V^  ivory.  Her  eyes  were  magnificent,  but  absurdly 
large  for  such  a  small  creature — almost  as  large  as  that 
of  a  young  gazelle  ;  full,  protruding,  and  extremely 
lustrous.  Absolutely  nude,  the  little  demoiselle  was 
quite  j)ossessed,  as  though  she  were  accustomed  to  be 
admired,  and  really  enjoyed  inspection.  She  had  been 
discovered  near  tlie  sources  of  the  Ngaiyu. 

Ugarrowwa,  having  shown  me  all  his  treasures,  in- 
cluding the  splendid  store  of  ivory  he  had  succeeded  in 
colk'cting,  accomjjanied  me  to  the  boat,  and  sent  away 
with  me  hirgc  trays  of  exquisitely  cooked  rice,  and  an 
iinmcnse  bowl  full  of  curried  fowl,  a  dish  that  I 
am  not  fond  of,  1)ut  which  insj^ired  gratitude  in  my 
(•anq). 

Oui-  Liiidiiig-place  ])resented  a  lively  scene.  The 
sellers  (tf  bananas,  ])otatoes,  sugar-cane,  rice,  fiour  of 
uianioe,  and  jowls  elanioureil  for  customers^  and  clotlis 
and  heads  exelia n-jcc I  hands  j'apidiy.  This  is  the  kind 
of  life  wln'eli  ilic  /an/ibaris  delii^lit  in,  like  almost  ali 
other  nali\-es,  ami  I  heir  lia|)|)\-  sjiirits  were  expressed  in 
soniuls  lo  which  we  had  Ion;,;'  Ix'cii  stranc;ers. 

I'jai'ly  this  moininu;  I  had  sent  a  canoe  to  pi<*k'  up  any 
stragi^lers  that  mi'jlit  lia\c  lieen  nnalilc  to  reach  camp, 
and  belore  ."1  i'.  m.  live  sick  men,  who  had  surrendered 
t lieniselves  to  their  fate,  were  hroiiglit  in,  and  shortly 
al't-'r  a  muster  was  held.  'I'lie  jnllowinu' were  the  I'etni'jis 
ol  men  alih'  to  marih  ; 


RETURNS    OF  MEN  ABLE    TO   MARCH. 


209 


No.  1  Company 
No.  2 
No.  3 
No.  4 
Cooks   . 
Boys 

Europeans     . 
Soudanese 


Sick 


Departed  from  Yambuya 
TjOss  by  desertion  and  deatli 


Men. 

Cbiefs 

r)9 

4 

57 

4 

60 

4 

Gl 

4 

3 

9 

.. 

6 

,. 

6 

.. 

271 

16 

56 

327 

389 

1887.  - 
St'lit.  17. 

Ugarrow- 

wa's 

.station. 


62 


The  boat  and  canoes  were  manned,  and  the  sick 
transported  to  the  Arab  settlement,  arrangements  having 
been  made  for  boardino;  them  at  the  rate  of  five  doHars 
each  per  month  until  Major  Barttelot  should  appear, 
or  some  person  bearing  an  order  from  me. 

It  will  be  remembered  thatw^e  met  Ugarrowwa's  men 
on  the  31st  of  August,  one  day's  march  from  Avejeli, 
opposite  the  Nepoko  mouth.  These  men,  instead  of  pur- 
suing their  w^ay  down  river,  had  returned  to  Ugarrowwa 
to  inform  him  of  the  news  they  had  received  from  us, 
believing  that  their  mission  was  accomplished.  It  was 
Ugarrowwa's  wish  to  obtain  gunpowder,  as  his  supply 
was  nearly  exhausted.  Major  Barttelot  possessed  two 
and  a  quarter  tons  of  this  explosive,  and,  as  reported  by 
us,  was  advancing  up  river,  but  as  he  had  so  much 
baoo-ao-e  it  would  take  several  months  before  he  could 
arrive  so  f^ir.  I  wished  to  communicate  with  Major 
Barttelot,  and  accordingly  I  stipulated  with  Ugarrowwa 
that  if  his  men  continued  their  way  down  river  along 
the  south  or  left  bank  until  they  delivered  a  letter  into 
his  hands,  I  would  give  him  an  order  for  three  hundred- 
weight of  powder.  He  promised  to  send  forty  scouts 
within  a  month,  and  expressed  great  gratitude.  (He 
actually  did  send  them,  as  he  promised,  between  the  20th 
and  2  5  til  of  October.  They  succeeded  in  reaching  WasjD 
Rapids,  165  miles  from  Yambuya,  whence  they  were 
obliged  to  return,  owing  to  losses  and  the  determined 
liostility  of  the  natives.) 

VOT..  T.  o 


210 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


UgaiTow- 

wa's 
station. 


1887._  Our  Zanzibari  deserters  had  been  deluded  like  our- 
'^^'  '■  selves.  Imagining  that  Ugarrowwa's  people  had  con- 
tinued their  journey  along  some  inland  route  westward, 
they  had  hastened  westward  in  pursuit  to  join  them, 
whereas  we  discovered  they  had  returned  eastward 
to  their  master.  The  arramrements  made  with  Ugar- 
rowwa,  and  the  public  proclamation  of  the  man  himself 
])efore  all,  would,  I  was  assured,  suffice  to  prevent  further 
desertion. 

We  were  pretty  tired  of  the  river  work  with  its 
numerous  rapids,  and  I  suggested  to  Ugarrowwa  that  I 
should  proceed  by  land  ;  the  Arab,  however,  was  earnest 
in  dissuading  me  from  that  course,  as  the  people  would 
be  spared  the  necessity  of  carrying  many  loads,  the  sick 
having  been  left  behind,  and  informed  me  that  his  in- 
formation led  him  to  believe  that  the  river  was  much 
more  navigable  above  for  many  days  than  below. 


CHAPTER  TX. 

UfiARROWWA's    TO    KILONCIA  LONOa's. 

Ugarrowwa  sends  us  tlircc  Zaiizibari  deserters — W'c  make  an  exampio 
^Tlio  "Express"  rifles — Conversation  with  Eashid  — The  Lenda 
river — Troublesome  rapids—  Scarcity  of  food — Some  of  Kilonc;a- 
Longa's  followers — Meeting  of  the  rivers  Ihuru  and  Itnri — State 
and  numbers  of  the  Expeilition — Illness  of  Captain  Nelson — Wo 
send  couriers  ahead  to  Kiloiiga-Longa's — The  sick  encamiMuent 
— Handy  and  the  guinea  fowl  -Scarcity  of  food  —Illness  caused 
by  the  forest  pears — Fanciful  menus — More  desertions — Asmani 
drowned — Our  condition  in  brief — Uledi's  suggestion — Umari's  climb 
— My  donkey  is  shot  for  food— We  strike  the  track  of  the  Mauyuema 
and  arrive  at  their  village 

Once    more    the  Expedition    consisted  of   picked  men.      i887. 
My  mind  was   relieved  of  anxiety  respecting  the   rear   '^''i'*-  ^''• 
column,  and  of  the  fate  which  threatened  the  sick  men.     K^a'T 
AVe  set  out  from  Ugarrrowa's  station  with  180  loads  in    station, 
the   canoes   and   boat,   forty-seven  loads   to   be  carried 
once  in  four  days  by  alternate  companies.      The  Arabs 
accompanied  us  for  a  few  hours  on  the  lOtli  to  start  us 
on  our  road  and  to  wish  us  success  in  our  venture. 

We  had  scarcely  been  all  collected  in  our  camp,  and 
the  evening  was  rapidly  becoming  dusky,  when  a  canoe 
from  Ugarrowwa  appeared  with  three  Zanzibaris  bound 
as  prisoners.  Inquiring  the  cause  of  this,  I  was  astonished 
to  find  that  they  were  deserters  whom  Ugarrowwa  had 
picked  up  soon  after  reaching  his  station.  They  had 
absconded  with  rifles,  and  their  pouches  showed  that  • 
they  had  contrived  to  filch  cartridges  on  the  road,  I 
rewarded  Ugarrowwa  with  a  revolver  and  200  cartridges. 
The  prisoners  were  secured  for  the  night,  but  before 
retiring  I  debated  carefully  as  to  what  method  was  best 
to  deal  with  these   people.      If  this   were  permitted  to 


212  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     proceed  without  the  strongest  measures,  we  sliould  in  a 

u^'Srrow-  short  tinic  be  com]:)elled  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  all  the 

\'a's     lives  and  bitter  agonies  of  the  march  would  have  been 

station.  i     i    •  •        *" 

expended  m  vam. 

In  the  morning  "  all  hands  "  were  mustered,  and  an 
address  was  delivered  to  the  men  in  fitting  words,  to 
which  all  assented ;  and  all  agreed  that  we  had  en- 
deavoured our  utmost  to  do  our  duty,  that  we  had  all 
borne  much,  but  that  the  people  on  this  occasion 
a^^peared  to  be  all  slaves,  and  possessed  no  moral  sense 
whatever.  They  readily  conceded  that  if  natives 
attempted  to  steal  our  rifles,  which  were  "  our  souls," 
we  should  be  iustified  in  shootinof  them  dead,  and 
that  if  men,  paid  for  their  laljour,  protected  and  treated 
kindly,  as  they  were,  attempted  to  cut  our  throats  in  the 
night,  were  equally  liable  to  be  shot. 

"Well  then,"  said  1,  "what  are  these  doing  but  taking 
our  arms,  and  running  away  with  our  moans  of  defence. 
You  say  that  you  would  shoot  natives,  if  they  stood  in 
your  way  2)reventing  your  progress  onward  or  retreat 
backward.  A\  hat  are  these  doing  ?  For  if  you  have  no 
rifles  left,  or  amnuuiilioii,  can  you  march  either  forward 
or  l)ackwar(l  '{  " 

"  JS'o,"  they  admitted. 

"  Very  well,  then,  you  have  condcmuod  them  to  death. 
One  shall  'lie  to-day,  anotlier  to-morrow,  and  another 
the  next  day,  and  li-om  this  day  forward,  every  thief  and 
deserter  who  leaves  his  duty  and  imperils  his  comrades' 
lives  shall  die." 

'i'hc,  culprits  were  then  (jiicstioncd  as  to  who  they 
were.  <>iit'  i<'|ilic(l  thai  he  was  the  slave  of  Farjalla-bill 
Ali  a  hcadnian  in  .\o.  I  conipany  ;  another  that  he  was 
the  sla\c  of  a  IJanyan  in  Zanzibar,  and  the  third  that  he 
was  th(;  sla\(!  n'i  ww  ailizan  at  woi'k  in  Unyanyembe. 

Lots  W('i-(!  cast,  ami  he  who  chose  the  shortest  paj)er 
of  three  slips  was  the  one  to  die  (irst.  The  lot  fell  upon 
the  sla\c  of  l'';i i),i I I;i,  who  was  tlien  present.  The  rope 
was  he;i\c(|  ()\cr  a  sloni  hranch.  h'ort  \'  men  at  the 
word  III  command  la\'  iiold  of  the  lupt-,  und  a  noose  was 
caat  Joiind  llie  prisoner's  neck. 


station. 


WE   MAKE   EXAMPLES    OF    TlWKK    DESEJiTEIiS.  213 

"  Have    you    anythinpf    to    say    before    the    word    ib     ih87. 
given  i  ^j  1^^.^^^ 

He  replied  witli  a  shake  of  the  head.  The  signal  was  ^wa-T' 
given,  and  the  man  was  hoisted  up.  Before  the  last 
struggles  were  over,  the  Expedition  had  filed  out  of 
camp  leaving  the  rearguard  and  river  column  behind. 
A  rattan  was  substituted  in  place  of  our  rope,  the  Ixxly 
was  secured  to  the  tree,  and  within  fifteen  minutes  the 
camp  was  abandoned. 

AVe  made  good  progress  on  this  day.  A  track  ran 
along  the  river  which  greatly  assisted  the  caravan.  In 
passing  through  we  searched  and  found  only  ten 
bunches  of  miniature  plantains.  We  formed  camp  an 
hour's  distance  from  the  confluence  of  the  Lenda  and 
[turi. 

Another  noble  tusker  was  bathing  opposite  the  river, 
and  Captain  Nelson,  with  a  double-barrelled  rifle,  similar 
to  my  own,  myself,  and  Saat  Tato  the  hunter,  crossed  over 
and  floated  down  within  fifteen  yards  of  the  elephant. 
We  fired  three  bullets  simultaneously  into  him,  and  in  a 
second  had  planted  two  more,  and  yet  with  all  this  lead 
fired  at  vital  parts  the  animal  contrived  to  escape. 
From  this  time  we  lost  all  confidence  in  these  rifles. 
We  never  bagged  one  head  of  game  with  the  Expresses 
during  the  entire  Expedition.  Captain  Nelson  sold  his 
rifle  for  a  small  supply  of  food  to  Kilonga-Longa  some 
time  afterwards,  and  I  parted  with  mine  as  a  gift  to 
Antari,  King  of  Ankori,  nearly  two  years  later.  With 
the  No.  8  or  No.  10  Reilly  rifle  I  was  always  successful, 
therefore  those  interested  in  such  things  may  avail 
themselves  of  our  experience. 

As  the  next  day  dawned  and  a  grey  light  broke 
through  the  umbrageous  coping  of  the  camp  I  despatched 
a  boy  to  call  the  head  chief  Rashid. 

"  Well,  Rashid,  old  man,  we  shall  have  to  execute 
the  other  man  presently.  It  will  soon  be  time  to  pre- 
pare for  it.     What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  Well,  what  can  we  do  else  than  kill  those  who  are 
trying  to  kill  us  ?  If  we  point  to  a  pit  filled  at  the 
bottom  v/itli   pointed   pales  and  poisoned  skewers,  and 


214  IN   DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.     tell  men  to  beware  of  it,  surely  we  are  not  to  l^lame  if 
Sept.  20.  j^^gjj  g|^^|-  ^}^(3Jp  (..^j.g  ^,3  words  of  Warning  and  spring  in. 

^wa's'"^*  ^n  their  own  heads  let  the  guilt  lie." 
station.  "  But  it  is  vciy  hard  after  all.  Kashid  bin  Omar,  this 
forest  makes  men's  hearts  like  lead,  and  hunger  has 
driven  their  wits  out  of  their  heads  ;  nothing  is  thought 
of  but  the  empty  belly  and  crying  stomach.  I  have 
heard  that  when  mothers  are  driven  by  famine  they  will 
sometimes  eat  their  children.  Why  should  we  wonder 
that  the  servant  runs  away  from  his  master  when  he 
cannot  feed  him  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  truth  as  plain  as  sunshine.  But  if  we 
have  to  die  let  us  all  die  together.  There  are  plenty  of 
good  men  here  who  will  give  you  their  hearts  whenever 
you  bid  them  do  it.  There  are  others  —  slaves  of 
slaves — who  know  nothing  and  care  for  nothing,  and  as 
they  would  Hy  with  what  we  need  to  make  our  own 
lives  sure,  let  tliem  perish  and  rot.  They  all  know  that 
you,  a  Christian,  are  undergoing  all  this  to  save  the 
sons  of  Islam  wlio  are  in  trouble  near  some  great  sea, 
Ik'noikI  hci-c  :  tlicN'  profess  Islam,  and  yet  would  leave 
tiie  Chiistiaii  in  the  l)usli.      TiCt  them  die." 

"  But  supposing,  Basliid,  we  could  prevent  this  break- 
up and  near  ruin  bv  some  other  Avay  not  quite  so 
severe  as  to  hang  thcni  up  until  they  ai'tidead  ;  what 
would  vou  sav  ?  " 

"  J  Would  sav,  sir.  tlml  all  ways  are  good,  l)ut,  without 
ddubt,  the  best  is  th;it  which  will  leave  thcni  li\iiig  to 
repent." 

"(iood,  then,  .'irtcr  \\\y  eoU'ee  llie  must(M'  will  l)e 
sounded.  .\b'anwhile,  ])i-epai'e  a  long  rattan  cable  ; 
<htuble  it  <i\-er  ihat  stoul  t)i'aneh  ^■(lndel•.  Make  a  good 
noose  of  ;i  |iieec  ol'  !h;il  new  sounding  line.  Get  the 
j)risoner  read}',  j)ut  gnai'ds  over  him,  then  when  you 
heal-  the  Iruinjx't  tell  these  words  in  the  eai's  of  the 
othei'  eliiels,  '('(tnie  lo  iiie.  ;ind  ;isk  his  |»;ii'don,  and  I 
will  give  it  you.'  I  slwill  look  to  you,  and  ask  if  you 
li;i\c  anything  to  say;  lluil  will  be  your  signal,  llow 
do  you  like  it  ?  " 

"  \a'\  it  lie  .'IS  \<»u  sav,      The  men  will  answer  you." 


W.I  s 

station. 


AN  EMOTIONAL    SCENE.  215 

In   luilf-Jiii-liour  the  muster  sigiuil  sounded  ;   the  com-     1887. 
panics  formed  a  square  entJosing  the  prisoner.     A  long  ^^p*'  '^^ 
rattan    cable    hung    suspended    with     the    fata]     noose     ^'"'""^^ 
attached  to  a  loop  ;  it  trailed  along  the  ground  like  an 
immense  serpent.     After  a  short  address,  a   man   ad- 
vanced and  placed  the  noose  around  the  neck  ;  a  com- 
pany was  told  off  to  lioist  the  man  upward. 

"  Now,  my  man,  have  you  anything  to  say  to  us 
before  you  join  your  brother  who  died  yesterday  'I " 

The  man  remained  silent,  and  scarcely  seemed 
conscious  that  I  spoke.  I  turned  round  to  the  head 
man.  "  Have  you  anything  to  say  before  I  pass  the 
word  ? " 

Then  Eashid  nudged  his  brother  chiefs,  at  which 
they  all  rushed  up,  and  threw  themselves  at  my  feet, 
pleading  forgiveness,  blaming  in  harsh  terms  the  thieves 
and  murderers,  but  vowing  that  their  behaviour  in 
future  would  be  better  if  mercy  was  extended  for  this 
one  time. 

During  this  scene  the  Zanzibaris'  faces  Avere  worth 
observing.  How  the  eyes  dilated  and  the  lips  closed, 
and  their  cheeks  became  pallid,  as  with  the  s^jeed  of  an 
electric  flash  the  same  emotion  moved  them  ! 

"  Enough,  children  !  take  your  man,  his  life  is  yours. 
But  see  to  it.  There  is  only  one  law  in  future  for  him 
who  robs  us  of  a  rifle,  and  that  is  death  by  the  cord." 

Then  such  a  manifestation  of  feelino;  occurred  that  I 
was  amazed— real  big  tears  rolled  down  many  a  face, 
wdiile  every  eye  was  suffused  and  enlarged  with  his 
passionate  emotions.  Caps  and  turbans  were  tossed 
into  the  air.  Rifles  were  lifted,  and  every  right  arm 
was  up  as  they  exclaimed  "  Until  the  white  cap  is 
buried  none  shall  leave  him  !  Death  to  liim  who  leaves 
Bula  Matari !  Show  the  way  to  the  Nyanza  !  Lead  on 
now — now  w^e  will  follow  !  " 

Nowdiere  have  I  witnessed  such  affectinir  excitement 
except  m  Spain  —  perhaps  when  the  Republicans 
stormily  roared  their  sentiments,  after  listening  to  some 
glorious  exhortations  to  stand  true  to  the  new  fiiith  in 
Libertad,  Igualdad,  and  Fraternidad  ! 


216  IN  DABKEST  AFBldA. 

1887.         The  prisoner  also  wept,  and  after  the  noose  was  fiung 

Sept.  20.  asi(jg^  knelt  down  and  vowed   to  die  at  my  feet.     We 

"wJ's^"  shook    hands  and   1    said,    "  It    is    God's    work,    thank 

station.      Hini." 

Merrily  the  trumpet  blared  once  more,  and  at  once 
rose  every  voice,  "  By  the  help  of  God  !  By  the  help  of 
God  ! "  The  detail  for  the  day  sprang  to  their  posts, 
received  their  heavy  load  for  the  day,  and  marched 
away  rejoicing  as  to  a  feast.  Even  the  officers  smiled 
their  approval.  Never  was  there  such  a  numljer  of 
w^armed  hearts  in  the  forest  of  the  Congo  as  on  that 
day. 

The  land  and  river  columns  reached  the  Lenda 
within  an  liour,  and  ahout  the  same  time.  This  was 
apparently  a  deep  river  al)out  a  hundred  yards  wide. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  confluence  was  a  small  village, 
but  its  plantain  groves  liad  been  long  ago  despoiled  of 
fruit.  Soon  after  the  ferriage  was  completed  the  men 
were  permitted  to  scour  the  country  in  search  of  food  ; 
some  on  the  noith  l)ank,  and  others  on  the  south  bank, 
but  long  before  night  they  all  returned,  having  l)een 
unable  to  find  a  morsel  of  any  kind  of  edible. 

On  the  22nd,  while  pursuing  our  way  by  river  and 
by  hind  as  usu.iK  I  reflected  that  only  on  the  18tli  I  had 
left  fifty-six:  in\alids  under  tlie  care  of  an  Arab  ;  yet 
on  observing  tlie  j)eople  at  the  muster,  I  noticed  that 
tliei'(!  were  about  fifty  nh'cady  incapacitated  by  debility. 
'J'he  very  stoutest,  and  most  prudent  were  pining  under 
Bucli  protracted  aii<l  nicin  diet.  To  press  on  through 
Kuch  wastes  unpeople" I  l>y  the  ivory  hunters  appeared 
nimply  imp(jssil)lc,  but  on  ;iiri\  ing  at  Umeni  we  had  the 
good  fortune  to  find  sullicicnt  Ibr  ;i  full  dav's  rations, 
aixl  liojx'  ;ig;iin  (iilcd  us. 

The  lollowing  d;i\-.  one  ni;in,  (■ailed  ■'  Abdallali  tlie 
Imniped,  deserted.  We  on  I  lie  v'wvv  wwc  t  I'oubled 
with  sevei'id  rapids,  and  palelies  oC  biitken  watei",  and 
in  diseliargin<j,  cargo,  and  liauling  canoes,  and  finally 
we  came  in  \ie\\  •»!"  a  fall  < if  forty  feet  with  lengths  of 
rapids  above  and  below. 

One  would    have    thought,    that    jty  this  time  the  Tturi 


I 


TROUDLKtiOME   RAPIT)S.  217 

vvould  luivG  become  an  iusigniiicaiit  stream,   hut   when      i887. 
we  saw  the  volume  of  water  precipitated  over  the  third  ^*^''*'  ^^ 
large  cataract,  we  had  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  still  a     uiver, 
powerful  river. 

The  24tli  was  passed  by  us  in  foraging,  and  cutting  a 
highway  to  above  the  rapids  and  disconnecting  boat 
sections  for  transport.  Tlie  pioneers  secured  a  fair 
quantity  of  plantains,  the  three  other  companies 
nothing,  '^riie  obstructions  to  this  cataract  consisted  of 
rcchlish  schistose  rock. 

On  the  next  day  we  were  clear  of  the  third  cataract 
and  halted  at  an  old  Arab  encampment.  ]  )uring'  this 
day  n(3  new  supply  of  food  was  obtained. 

The  day  following  we  reached  another  series  of 
rapids,  and  after  a  terriljle  day's  work  unloading  and 
reshipping  several  times,  witli  the  fatigues  and  anxiety 
incurred  during  the  mounting  of  the  dangerous  rapids, 
we  reached  camp  opposite  Avatiko. 

IIow  useful  tlie  boat  and  canoes  were  to  us  may 
be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  it  required  us  to  make 
three  round  trips  to  carry  227  loads.  Even  then  it 
occupied  all  the  healthy  men  until  niglit.  The  people 
were  so  reduced  by  hunger,  that  over  a  third  could  do 
no  more  tlian  crawl.  I  was  personally  reduced  to  two 
l)ananas  on  this  day  from  morning  to  night.  But  some 
of  our  Zanzibaris  had  found  nothing  to  subsist  on  for 
two  entire  days,  which  was  enough  to  sap  the  strength 
of  the  best.  A  foraging  party  of  No.  1  Company  crossed 
the  river  to  Avatiko  settlement,  and  found  a  small 
supply  of  young  fruit,  1  )ut  they  captured  a  woman  who 
stated  that  she  knew  and  could  guide  us  to  j^lantains  as 
large  as  her  arms. 

The  27th  of  September  was  a  halt.  I  despatched 
Lieutenant  Stairs  to  explore  ahead  along  the  river,  and 
180  men  across  river  to  forage  for  food,  with  our 
female  captive  as  guide.  The  former  returned  to  report 
that  no  village  had  been  seen,  and  to  detail  an  exciting 
encounter  he  had  liad  with  elephants,  from  which  it 
appeared  he  had  a  narrow  escape.  The  Zanzil)aris 
came  back  with  sufficient  plantains  to  distribute  from 


218  7.V   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887,  sixty  to  eighty  per  iiiaii.  If  the  people  had  followed 
Sept.  2,.  ^^^^j^.  pj.^j^  ^£  economising  the  food,  we  should  have  had 
less  suffering  to  record,  but  their  appetites  were  usually 
ungo^^ernable.  The  (Quantity  now  distributed  impartially, 
ought  to  have  served  them  for  from  six  to  eight  days, 
Ijut  several  sat  up  all  night  to  eat,  trusting  in  God  to 
supply  them  with  more  on  peremj)tory  demand. 

On  the  30th  tlic  river  and  land  parties  met  at  lunch 
time.  This  day  the  officers  and  myself  enjoyed  a  feast. 
Stairs  had  discovered  a  live  antelope  in  a  pit,  and  I 
had  discovered  a  mess  of  fresh  fish  in  a  native  basket- 
net  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek.  In  the  afternoon 
we  camped  at  a  portion  of  the  river  bank  which  showed 
signs  of  its  being  used  as  a  landing  near  a  ferry.  Soon 
after  camping  w^e  were  startled  by  three  shots.  These 
indicated  the  presence  of  Manyuema,  and  presently 
about  a  dozen  fine-looking  men  stalked  into  the  camp. 
They  were  the  followers  of  Kilonga-Longa,  the  rival  of 
Ligarrowwa  in  the  career  of  devastation  to  which  these 
two  leaders  had  committed  themselves. 

Tlie  oManvuema  informed  us  that  Kilonaa-Lonsa's 
settlement  was  but  five  days'  journey,  and  that  as  the 
country  was  uninhabited  it  would  be  necessary  to 
])r()vide  rations  of  plantains  which  could  be  procured 
across  river,  and  that  still  a  month's  journey  lay  between 
us  and  the  grass  land.  They  advised  us  to  stay  at  the 
place  two  days  to  prepare  the  food,  to  which  we  were 
very  willing  to  agree,  the  discovery  of  some  kind  of 
})rovisioiis  l)ciiig  imperative. 

J)uring  tlie  first  day's  hidt,  the  search  for  food  was 
unsu(:cessful,  but  on  the  second  day  at  early  dawn  a 
strong  detaclinicnl  left  W^v  tlic  iiortli  l)ank,  under 
Lieutenant  Stairs  ;ind  Siiigcoii  I'arkc.  In  the  afternoon 
the  foragei's  iTtiniic(|  wil  li  sullicicnl  plantains  to  enable 
us  to  serve  (Mit  foriy  t<»  cacli  man.  Some  of  the  most 
(;ntei'j)i'ising  men  IkhI  sccnifvl  more,  but  extreme  want 
]iad  I'cndcrcd  I  hem  somcwliat  unscnipulous,  and  they 
]i;id  cnnl  ri\  <'(|   ((»  sccictc  a  sniall  rcsciAc. 

( )n  I  lie  ."lid  ol  (  )(t(ilicr.  sdon  allcr  leaving  our  camp 
in  tlic   niiiiiiing,  \\ccnlcr<'d    into  ;i    [luoMikc  formatioii, 


SCABCITY    OF  FOOD.  219 

suiToiiiKled  ]»y  hills  rising  fiom   250   to  GOO  feet  al)ove     1887. 
the  river,  and  arriving  at  tlie  end  saw  a  crooked,  ditcli-     ^''*'  ^; 
like,  and  very  turl)ulent  stream.     The  scenery  reminded    'clm\T 
us  of  a  miniature  Congo  canon,  banked  as  it  was  with 
lines  of  lofty  hills.      A  presentiment  warned  us  that  we 
were  about  to  meet  more  serious  obstacles  than  any  we 
had  yet  met.     We  progressed,  however,  upward  aljout 
three    miles,   but    the    difficulties    of   advance    were    so 
numerous  that   we   were  unal)le  to  reach   the    caruAan 
camp. 

On  the  4tli  we  proceeded  a])Out  a  mile  and  a  half, 
and  crossed  the  Expedition  to  the  north  bank,  as  we 
had  been  told  that  the  Manyuema  settlement  of  Ipoto 
was  situated  on  that  side.  The  Manyuema  had  dis- 
appeared, and  three  of  our  deserters  had  accompanied 
them.  Two  men  had  also  died  of  dysentery.  We 
experienced  several  narrow  escapes ;  a  canoe  was  twice 
submerged,  the  steel  boat  was  nearly  lost,  and  the 
severe  bumping  she  received  destroyed  the  rate  of  our 
chronometers,  which  hitherto  had  been  regular.  I 
should  have  abandoned  the  river  on  this  day,  but  the 
wilderness,  the  horrible,  Icjuely,  uninhabited  wilderness, 
and  the  excessive  physical  prostration  and  weakness  of 
the  people,  forbade  it.  We  hoped  and  hoped  that  we 
sliould  be  able  to  arrive  at  some  place  wdiere  food  and 
rest  could  be  obtained,  which  appeared  improbable, 
except  at  Kilonga-Longa's  settlement. 

The  next  day  we  arrived,  at  10  a.m.,  after  a  push 
through  terribly  wild  water,  at  a  sharp  bend  curving 
eastward  from  N.E.,  distinguished  by  its  similarity  of 
outline  on  a  small  scale  to  Nsona  Mamba,  of  the  Lower 
Congo.  Stepping  on  shore  before  we  had  gone  far 
within  the  bend,  and  standing  on  some  lava-like  rock, 
I    saw    at    a    orlance    that    this    was    the    end    of  river 

O 

navigation  by  canoes.  The  hills  rose  up  to  a  bolder 
height,  quite  600  feet,  the  stream  w^as  contracted  to  a 
width  of  twenty-five  yards,  and  about  a  hundred  yards 
above  the  point  on  which  I  stood,  the  Ihuru  escaped, 
wild  and  furious,  from  a  gorge  ;  while  the  Ituri  was  seen 
descending  from  a  lieight  in  a  series  of  cataracts,  and, 


220  IK   DAllKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  both  uniting  at  this  point,  and  racing  madly  at  the 
,  Oc^-^.  Jiigliest  pitch  and  vehicity,  hellowed  then-  uproar  loudly 
Cami,.     amongst  the  embanking  and  sombre  forest  heights. 

I  sent  messengers  across  the  river  to  recall  the 
caravan  which  was  under  the  leadership  of  Stairs,  and 
on  their  return  recrossed  the  people  to  the  south  bank. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Gth  of  Octolier  our  state  and 
numbers  were  271  in  number,  including  white  and 
black.  Since  then  two  had  died  of  dysentery,  one 
from  debility,  four  had  deserted,  and  one  man  was 
hanged.  AVe  had  therefore  263  men  left.  Out  of 
this  number  fifty-two  had  been  reduced  to  skeletons, 
who  first,  attacked  by  ulcers,  had  been  unable  to 
forage,  and  to  whom  through  their  want  of  econo- 
mizing what  rations  luid  been  distributed,  had  not 
sufficient  to  maintain  them  during  the  days  that 
intervened  of  total  want.  These  losses  in  men  left 
me  211  still  able  to  maich,  and  as  anions:  these  there 
were  forty  men  non-carriers,  and  as  I  had  227  loads,  it 
followed  that  wlien  I  needed  carriage,  I  had  about 
eighty  loads  more  than  could  ])C  carried.  Captain 
Nelson  foi-  tlic  last  two  weeks  had  also  suffered  from  a 
dozen  small  ulcers,  which  had  gradually  increased  in 
virulence.  On  this  (hi)'  then,  when  the  wild  state  of  the 
rivei-  (juitc  proliibite*!  further  ])rogress  by  it,  he  and 
tifty-two  lucu  were  utterly  unfit  and  incapable  of 
'travel. 

Jt  was  a  diilicidt,  pioldem  that  now  faced  us. 
("aptain  Nelson  was  our  comi'ade,  whom  to  save  we 
were  bound  lo  cxci-t  our  best  ibi-ce.  To  the  fifty-two 
black  men  we  wei'c  e(|ually  bound  by  the  most  solemn 
oMigations  ;  and  dai-k  as  was  the  pi'ospect  around  us,  we 
were  not  so  Jar  re(|uee(l  but  'hat  we  entci'tained  a  lively 
hope  tliat  we  could  save  them.  As  the  Manyuema  had 
jcpoi'led  that  their  settlement  was  only  five  days' 
jouiiiew  ;in<l  we  had  alread\'  IraN'clled  t  Wo  days'  march, 
then  pi-oli.dtK  the  \illage  or  station  was  still  lhi'(M'.  days 
ahead  of  us.  ll  was  suggestecl  bv  ('aplaiu  Nelson  that 
if  we  des|)at(licd  i  n  I  id  1  igeiit  couiu'is  a  liea<l,  t  hey  would 
he    enable"!    lo    icich    Kilonga   Longa's    settlement  long 


A    OIJJOMY    CAMP.  221 

before    the    column.      As    this    suggestion    admitted   of     i887. 
no  contradiction,  and  as  the  head  men  were  naturally  ^''^^^■ 
the  most  capable  and  intelligent,  the  chief  of  the  head     camp. 
men  and  five  others  were  hastened  off,  and  instructed  at 
once  to  proceed  along  the  south  bank  of  the  river  until 
they  discovered  some  hxnding   place,  whence  tliey  must 
find  means  to  cross  the  Ituri   and  find  the  settlement, 
and  obtain  an  immediate  store  of  food. 

Before  starting  officers  and  men  demanded  to  know 
from  me  whether  I  believed  the  story  of  Arabs  l)eing 
ahead.  I  replied  that  I  believed  most  thoroughly,  but 
that  it  was  possible  that  the  Manyuema  had  under- 
estimated the  distance  to  gratify  or  encourage  us  and 
abate  our  anxiety. 

After  informing  the  unfortunate  cripples  of  our  in- 
tention to  proceed  forward  until  we  could  find  food  that 
we  might  not  all  l)e  lost,  and  send  relief  as  quickly  as 
it  could  be  obtained,  1  consigned  the  fifty-two  men, 
eighty-one  loads,  and  ten  canoes  in  charge  of  Captain 
Nelson — bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and  hoisting  our 
loads  and  boat  on  our  shoulders,  we  marched  away. 

No  more  gloomy  spot  could  have  been  selected  for  a 
camp  than  that  sandy  terrace,  encompassed  by  rocks 
and  hemmed  in  narrowly  l)y  those  dark  woods,  which 
rose  from  the  river's  edge  to  the  height  of  GOO  feet, 
and  pent  in  the  never-ceasing  uproar  created  by  the 
writhing  and  tortured  stream  and  the  twin  cataracts, 
that  ever  rivalled  each  other's  thunder.  The  imagina- 
tion shudders  at  the  hapless  position  of  those  crippled 
men,  who  were  doomed  to  remain  inactive,  to  listen  every 
moment  to  the  awful  sound  of  that  irreconcilable  fury  of 
wrathful  waters,  and  the  monotonous  and  continuous 
roar  of  plunging  rivers,  to  watch  the  leaping  waves, 
coiling  and  twisting  into  changing  columns  as  they  ever 
wrestled  for  mastery  with  each  other,  and  were  dashed 
in  white  fragments  of  foam  far  apart  by  the  ceaseless 
force  of  driven  currents  ;  to  gaze  at  the  dark,  relentless 
woods  spreading  upward  and  around,  standing  per- 
petually fixed  in  dull  green,  mourning  over  past  ages, 
past  times,    and   past   generations ;    then   think  of   the 


222  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  night,  with  its  palpal )le  blackness,  the  dead  black 
^^^•'°-  shadows  of  the  wooded  hills,  that  eternal  sound  of 
ManibL  fuiy,  that  ceaseless  boom  of  the  cataracts,  the  indefinite 
forms  born  of  nervousness  and  fearfulness,  that  misery 
engendered  by  loneliness  and  creeping  sense  of  al)andon- 
ment ;  then  will  be  understood  something  of  the  true 
position  of  these  poor  men. 

And  what  of  us  trudging  up  these  wooded  slopes  to 
gain  the  crest  of  the  forest  uplands,  to  tramp  on  and  on, 
whither  we  knew  not,  for  how  long  a  time  we  dared  not 
think,  seeking  for  food  with  the  double  responsibility 
weighing  us  down  for  these  trustful,  brave  fellows 
with  us,  and  for  those,  no  less  brave  and  trustful, 
whom  we  had  left  behind  at  the  bottom  of  the  horrible 
canon  ! 

As  I  looked  at  the  poor  men  struggling  wearily  on- 
ward it  appeared  to  me  as  though  a  few  hours  only  were 
needed  to  ensure  our  fate.  One  day,  perhaps  two  days, 
and  then  life  would  ebb  away.  How  their  eyes  searched 
the  wild  woods  for  the  red  Ijerries  of  the  phrynia,  and 
the  tartish,  crimson,  and  ol)long  fruit  of  the  amoma  ! 
How  they  rushed  for  the  flat  l)eans  of  the  forest,  and 
gloated  over  their  treasures  of  fungi !  In  short,  nothing 
was  rejected  in  this  severe  distress  to  which  we  were 
reduced  except  leaves  and  wood.  We  passed  several 
aband<jned  clearings  ;  and  some  men  chopped  down  pieces 
<»f  banana  stalk,  then  searched  for  wild  herbs  to  make 
potage,  the  bastard  jack  fruit,  or  the  fenessi,  and  other 
liufi^c  fruit  became  dear  objects  of  interest  as  we  strao-uled 

Oil. 

"  IJcturii  wc  could  not,  nor 
Coiilimui  wliero  wo  were  ;  to  sliit't  our  jthico 
\V!is  to  cxcliaii^'o  ono  misery  with  iiuotlujr. 
Aiul  fivory  diiy  tliiit  ciuuc,  cjuiio  to  dccuy 
A  day's  work  in  us." 

Oil      I  he     71  li     (if    (Iclobcl'    \vc    bcg.-ili    ;it    O.-IO    A.M.     to 

coiiitiiciK'c  ili.it  liiiM'icil  p;icc  lliroiigii  the  trackless  region 
oil  (lie  crc-t  ol  I  lie  loicst  ii|il;iii<ls.  AVe  ])icked  up  fungi, 
;iiii|  ilic  iiiiiliiii(i((  \\\\^\  rniil.MS  wc  ti'aA'clled,  and  after 
HCAcii  liolir,-'  lii;iri-li  wc  rcslcd  \\)V  tlic  (|;iv.  At,  II  A.M. 
wc  li;id  li;illi'<|   l.ii-  JiiiM'li  ;i|   I  lie  nsiijii  iioiii-.       i^^acli  oilicei' 


i 


Forest 


"EANDV''    AND    TIIK    GUINEA    FOIVL.  228 

had  economised  his  rations  of  bananas.  Two  were  is87. 
tlie  utmost  that  I  could  spare  fov  myself.  My  comrades  ^'^^'^  ^ 
were  also  as  rigidly  strict  and  close  in  their  diet,  and  a 
cup  of  sugarless  tea  closed  the  repast.  We  were  sitting- 
con  versiiig  about  our  prospects,  discussing  the  proba- 
bilities of  our  couriers  reaching  some  settlement  on  this 
day,  or  the  next,  and  the  time  that  it  would  take  them 
to  return,  and  they  desired  to  know  whether  in  my 
previous  African  experiences  I  had  encountered  anything 
so  grievous  as  this. 

"  No  ;  not  quite  so  bad  as  this,"  I  replied.  "  We  have 
suffered  ;  but  not  to  such  an  extremity.  Those  nine 
days  on  the  way  into  Ituru  were  wretched.  On  our 
Higlit  from  Buml)ire  we  certainly  suffered  much  hunger, 
and  also  wliile  floating  down  the  Congo  to  trace  its 
course  our  condition  was  much  to  be  pitied  ;  but  we  had 
a  little  of  something,  and  at  least  large  hope.  The  age 
of  miracles  is  past,  it  is  said,  but  why  should  they  be  ? 
Moses  drew  water  from  the  rock  at  Horeb  for  the 
thirsty  Israelites.  Of  water  we  have  enough  and  to 
spare.  Elijah  w^as  fed  by  ravens  at  the  brook  Cherith, 
but  there  is  not  a  raven  in  all  this  forest.  Christ  was 
ministered  unto  l)y  angels.  I  wonder  if  any  one  will 
minister  unto  us  ?  " 

Just  then  there  w\as  a  sound  as  of  a  large  l>ird 
whirring  through  the  air.  Little  Randy,  my  fox-terrier, 
lifted  up  a  foot  and  gazed  incjuiringiy  ;  w^e  turned  our 
heads  to  sec,  and  that  second  the  bircl  dropped  beneath 
the  jaws  of  Randy,  who  snapped  at  the  prize  and  held  it 
fast,  in  a  vice  as  of  iron. 

"There,  boys,"  I  said,  "truly  the  gods  are  gracious. 
The  age  of  miracles  is  not  past,"  and  my  comrades  were 
seen  gazing  in  delighted  surprise  at  the  bird,  which  was 
a  fine  fat  guinea  fowl.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
guinea  fowl  was  divided,  and  Randy,  its  captor,  had  his 
lawful  share,  and  the  little  doggie  seemed  to  know  that 
he  had  grown  in  esteem  with  all  men,  and  we  enjoyed 
t)ur  prize  each  with  his  own  feelings. 

On  the  next  day,  in  order  to  relieve  the  boat- 
bearers  of  their  hard  work,  Mr.  Jephson  was  requested 


224 


IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 


i  orest. 


1887.     to  connect  the    sections  together,  and   two  hours  after 
^''^'  '•    starting  on  the  march  came  opposite  an  inhabited  island. 
The  advance  scouts  seized  a  canoe  and  bore  straight  on 
to  the  island,  to  snatch  in  the  same  unruly  manner  as 
Orlando,  meat  for  the  hungry. 

"  What  would  you,  unruly  men  ?  " 
"  We   would  have  meat  !     Two  hundred  stagger   in 
these  woods  and  reel  with  faintness." 

The  natives  did  nut  stand  for  further  question,  but 


KANKV    .SKIZKS    'JIIK    (JUINLA    FUWL. 


vanislicd  kindU',  and  h-lL  their  li'casurus  of  food.  We 
rcceive<l  as  oui-  Av.ww  two  jK)unds  of  Indian  corn  and 
half-a-[)(Hinil  of  beans.  Altogether  about  twenty-five 
])oinids  of  corn  were  discovered,  which  was  distributed 
among  !  lie  |ie< (pie. 

In  I  lie  alle;iiooii  I  Kceixcd  a  no|(^.  from  j\1r.  Jephsoii, 
who  was  heliiiid  Willi  I  lie  lioal  :  ''  h'oi' ( Jod's  sake,  if  you 
can  Li('t.  aii\'  lo(t(|  ;ii    I  lie  \illage  send  lis  some." 

We  (|es|iatclie<|  answer  li»  .b"|»|ison  to  huut  up  the 
UMiinded  el<'|»!ianl   llial    I   liad  .sjiol,,  and  w'liich  had  taken 


WJtJ  ^END   MEN   TO    tiEARCH  FOR    lOOD.  225 

refuge  on  an  island  near  him,  and  in  reply  to  his  anxious     i8«7, 
letter,  a  small  handful  of  corn.  *^'*"  '^• 

On  the  9tli  of  October  100  men  volunteered  to  ^o 
across  river  and  explore  inland  from  the  north  bank 
with  a  resolute  intention  not  to  return  without  food  of 
some  kind.  I  went  up  river  with  the  boat's  crew,  and 
Stairs  down  river  to  strike  inland  by  a  little  track  in 
the  hope  that  it  might  lead  to  some  village  ;  those  who 
were  too  dispirited  to  go  far  wandered  southward 
through  the. woods  to  search  for  wild  fruit  and  forest 
beans.  This  last  article  was  about  four  times  the  size 
of  a  large  garden  bean,  encased  in  a  brow^n  leathery  rind. 
At  first  we  had  contented  ourselves  with  merely 
skinning  it  and  boiling  it,  but  this  produced  sickness  of 
the  stomach.  An  old  woman  captured  on  the  island 
was  seen  to  prepare  a  dish  of  these  beans  by  skinning 
them  and  afterwards  cleaning  the  inner  covering,  and 
finally  scraping  them  as  we  Avould  nutmegs.  Out  of 
this  floury  substance  she  made  some  patties  for  her 
(raptor,  who  shouted  in  ecstasies  that  they  were  good. 
Whereupon  everybody  bestirred  themselves  to  collect 
the  beans,  which  were  fairly  plentiful.  Tempted  by  a 
"  lady  finger  "  cake  of  this  article  that  was  brought  to 
me,  I  ventured  to  try  it,  and  found  it  sufficiently  filling, 
and  about  as  palatable  as  a  mess  of  acorns.  Indeed,  the 
flavour  stronglv  reminded  me  of  the  acorn.  The  funoi 
were  of  several  varieties,  some  pure  and  perfect  mush- 
rooms, others  were  of  a  less  harmless  kind  ;  but  surely 
the  gods  protected  the  miserable  human  beings  con- 
demned to  live  on  such  things.  Grubs  were  collected,  also 
slugs  from  the  trees,  caterpillars,  and  white  ants — these 
served  for  meat.  The  mabengu  (nux  vomica)  furnished 
the  dessert,  with  ftnessi  or  a  species  of  bastard  jack 
fruit. 

The  following  day  some  of  the  foragers  from  across 
the  river  returned  bringing  nothing.  They  had  dis- 
covered such  emptiness  on  the  north  bank  as  we  had 
found  on  the  south  bank  ;  but  "  Inshallah  !  "  they  said, 
"  we  shall  find  food  either  to-morrow  or  the  next 
day." 

VOL.  I.  P 


Oct   10, 
Forest 


226  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  Ill  the  moi'iiiiio   I  had  eaten  my  last  grain  of  Indian 

corn,  and  my  last  portion  of  everything  solid  that  was 
obtainable,  and  at  noon  the  horrid  pains  of  the 
stomach  had  to  be  satisfied  with  something.  Some 
potato  leaves  brought  me  by  Wadi  Khamis,  a  headman, 
\vere  bruised  fine  and  cooked.  They  were  not  bad^ 
still  the  stomach  ached  from  utter  depletion.  Tlien  a 
Zanzibari,  with  his  face  aglow  with  honest  pride,  brought 
me  a  dozen  fruit  of  the  size  and  colour  of  prize  pear, 
which  emitted  a  most  pleasant  fruity  odour.  He 
warranted  them  to  be  lovely,  and  declared  that  the  men 
enjoyed  them,  but  the  finest  had  l)een  picked  out  for 
myself  and  ofiicers.  He  had  also  brought  a  pattie  made 
out  of  the  wood-liean  fiour  which  had  a  rich  custardy 
look  about  it.  With  many  thanks  I  accepted  this  novel 
repast,  and  I  felt  a  grateful  sense  of  fulness.  In  an 
hour,  however,  a  nausea  attacked  me,  and  I  was  forced 
to  seek  my  bed.  The  temples  presently  felt  as  if  con- 
stricted l)y  an  iron  band,  tlie  eyes  ])linked  strangely, 
and  a  magnifying  glass  did  not  enable  me  to  read 
the  figures  of  Norie's  Epitome.  My  servant,  with  the 
rashness  of  youth,  had  lunched  bravely  on  what  I  had 
shared  wirli  liini  ot"  the  sweetly-smelling  pear-like  fruit, 
and  consecjuently  sufiered  more  severely.  Had  he  been 
in  a  little  cockle  boat  on  a  mad  channel  sea  he  could 
scarcely  have  })i'csciit('(l  a  nioie  fiabby  and  disordered 
aspect  than  had  been  caused  by  the  forest  pears. 

.lust  at  sunset  the  foragers  of  No.  1  Company,  after 
all  iibsciirc  (if  iliiity-si\  hours,  appeared  from  the 
N.  bank,  bringing  sutHcient  ])laiitains  to  save  the 
Kuro|)('ans  IVoin  despair  and  stai'vation  ;  but  the  men 
receiv(M|  only  1  \vo  [danlains  each,  equal  to  four  ounces 
of  solid  stuH",  to  put  into  stomachs  that  would  have 
ro(|uired  eight  pounds  to  satisfy. 

Tlic  otliceis  Stairs.  .Icplison,  and  Parke,  had  been 
.'unusing  lliemselves  llie  entire  afternoon  in  drawing 
iiincif'ul  menus,  where  such  thiuijcs  linured  as: — 

Filc((|(!  IlfMlfcil   (]|l!irtlTllS<^ 

PctifcK  li(»u(^li(''(!H  mix  liuitrcs  d^  D.sfoiule. 
lit'caH.sinoK  roticH  a  la  Lotidios. 


FANCIFUL    MKNFS    OF    THE    OFFICKIIS.  227 

Another  had  shown  his  Anglo-Saxon  proclivities  for     iss?. 
solids  such  as  : —  ^^^-  '^^• 

i'olest. 

Ham  and  eggs  and  plenty  of  them, 
Eoast  beef  and  potatoes  unlimited, 
A  weighty  plum  jjiidding. 

Tlicre  were  two  of  the  foragers  missing,  but  we  could 
not  wait  f^r  them.  We  moved  from  this  starvation 
camp  to  one  higher  up,  a  distance  of  eleven  miles, 

A  man  of  No.  3  Company  dropped  his  box  of 
ammunition  into  a  deep  affluent  and  lost  it.  Kajeli 
stole  a  box  of  Winchester  ammunition  and  absconded. 
8alim  stole  a  case  containino;  Emin  Pasha's  new  boots 
and  two  pairs  of  mine,  and  deserted.  Wadi  Adam 
vanished  with  Surgeon  Parke's  entire  kit.  Swadi,  of 
No.  1  Company,  left  his  box  on  the  road,  and  departed 
himself  to  parts  unknown.  Bull-necked  Uchungu 
followed  suit  with  a  box  of  Reminsfton  cartridges. 

On  the  12th  of  October  we  marched  four-and-a-half 
miles,  E.  by  S.  The  boat  and  crew  were  far  below, 
struggling  in  rapids.  We  wished  now  to  cross  the 
river  to  try  our  fortune  on  the  N.  bank.  We  searched 
for  a  canoe,  and  saw  one  on  the  other  side,  but  the 
river  was  400  yards  wide,  and  the  current  was  too 
strong  against  the  best  swimmers  in  their  present  state 
of  debility. 

Some  scouts  presently  discovered  a  canoe  fastened  to 
an  island  only  forty  yards  from  the  south  bank,  which 
was  situate  a  little  above  our  halting  place.  Three  men 
volunteered,  among  whom  was  Wadi  Asman,  of  the 
Pioneers,  a  grave  man,  faithful,  and  of  much  experience 
in  many  African  lands.  Twenty  dollars  reward  was  to 
be  the  prize  of  success.  Asman  lacked  the  audacity 
of  Uledi,  the  coxswain  of  the  "  advance,"  as  well  as  his 
bold  high  spirit,  but  was  a  most  prudent  and  valuable 
man. 

These  three  men  chose  a  small  rapid  for  their  venture, 
that  they  might  obtain  a  footing  now  and  then  on  the 
rocks.  At  dusk  two  of  them  returned  to  grieve  us  with 
the   news   that   Asman   had    tried    to   swim   with    his 


Forest. 


228  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1S87.  Winchester  on  his  back,  and  had  been  swept  ))y  the 
Oct.  12.    g^j.Qjjg  current  into  a  whirlpool,  and  was  drowned. 

We  were  unfortunate  in  every  respect ;  our  chiefs  had 
not  yet  returned,  we  were  fearing  for  their  fate,  strong 
men  deserted.  Our  rifles  were  rapidly  decreasing  in 
number.  Our  ammunition  was  being  stolen.  Feruzi. 
the  next  best  man  to  l^ledi  as  a  sailor,  soldier,  carrier, 
good  man  and  true,  was  dying  from  a  wound  inflicted 
on  the  head  bv  a  savage's  knife. 

The  following  day  was  also  a  halt.  We  were  about 
to  cross  the  river,  and  we  were  anxious  for  our  six 
chiefs,  one  of  whom  was  Rashid  bin  Omar,  the  "  father  of 
the  people,"  as  he  was  called.  Equipped  with,  only  their 
rifles,  accoutrements  and  suflicient  ammunition,  such 
men  ought  to  have  travelled  in  the  week  that  had 
elapsed  since  our  departure  from  Nelson's  camp  over  a 
hundred  miles.  If  they,  during  that  distance,  could  not 
discover  the  j\Ian\'uema  settlement,  what  chance  had 
we,  burdened  with  loads,  with  a  caravan  of  hungry  and 
despairing  men,  who  for  a  week  had  fed  on  nothing  but 
two  plantains,  berries,  wild  fruit,  and  fungi  ?  Our  men 
had  })egun  to  sufler  dearly  during  this  protracted 
starvation.     Three  had  died  the  day  before. 

Towards  cxening  .Icphson  appeared  with  the  boat, 
and  brouglit  a  su[)plv  of  Indian  corn,  which  sutiiced  to 
give  twelve  cupfuls  to  each  white.  It  was  a  reprieve 
from  death  for  the  Europeans. 

'I'lic  next  day,  the  loth,  ha\iiig  blazed  trees  arouud 
the  (-.iiiip,  ;iii(l  draw  11  broad  ai'i-ows  with  charcoal  for 
the  guidance  of  the-  head  men  when  they  should  I'cturn, 
llie  Exp('(|it  ion  crossed  over  to  the  north  l)ank  and  camped 
on  I  lie  ii[)|)cr  side  of  a  raii^c  of  hills.  I'enizi  Ali  died  of 
his  wound  soon  afler. 

Our  men  were  in  sudi  a  des|)eralel\-  weak  state,  that  I 
had  iiol  thchearl  li>  cKiiiniaiid  the  boat  t o  be  disconnected 
i'or  trans[)orl,  as  had  a  world's  treasure  been  spread  out 
befoi-e  iheni,  lliey  coiiM  not  have  exhibited  greater 
power  tiiaii  lliey  were  williiiLi'  to  give  at  a  word.  I 
atatcd  the  case  fairly  to  them  thus: 

"You   see,    my  men,    our  condition   in    brief  is  this. 


Forest. 


ADVICE  FROM   THE  FAITHFUL    ULEBL  229 

We  started  from  Yaml)uya  389  in  num])er  and  took  i887. 
237  loads  with  us.  We  had  80  extra  carriers  to  provide  ^^^-  ^^^ 
for  those  who  by  the  way  might  become  weak  and 
ailing.  We  left  5G  men  at  Ugarrowwa's  Settlement, 
and  52  wdth  Captain  Nelson.  We  should  have  271  left, 
but  instead  of  that  numl)er  we  have  only  200  to-day, 
including  the  chiefs  who  are  al)sent.  Seventy-one  have 
either  died,  been  killed,  or  deserted.  But  there  are  only 
150  of  you  fit  to  carry  anything,  and  therefore  we  cannot 
carry  this  boat  any  further.  I  say,  let  us  sink  her  here 
by  the  riverside,  and  let  us  press  on  to  get  food  for 
ourselves  and  those  with  Captain  Nelson,  who  are 
wondering  what  has  become  of  us,  before  we  all  die  in 
these  woods.  You  are  the  carriers  of  the  boat — not  wo, 
Do  you  speak,  what  shall  be  done  unto  her  ? " 

Many  suggestions  were  made  by  the  officers  and  men, 
but  Uledi  of  'Through  the  Dark  Continent,'  always 
Uledi — the  ever  faithful  Uledi,  spoke  straight  to  the 
purpose.  "  Sir,  my  advice  is  this.  You  go  on  with  the 
caravan  and  search  for  the  Manyuema,  and  I  and  my 
crew  will  work  at  these  rapids,  and  pole,  row,  or  drag 
her  on  as  we  can.  After  I  have  gone  two  days  up,  if  I 
do  not  see  sio-ns  of  the  JManvuema  I  will  send  men  after 
you  to  keep  touch  with  you.  We  cannot  lose  you,  for  a 
blind  man  could  follow  such  a  track  as  the  caravan 
makes. " 

This  suggestion  was  agreed  by  all  to  be  the  best,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  our  rule  of  conduct  should  be  as 
Uledi  sketched  out. 

We  separated  at  10  a.m.,  and  in  a  short  time  I  had 
my  first  experience  among  the  loftier  hills  of  the 
Aruwimi  valley.  I  led  the  caravan  northward  through 
the  trackless  forest,  sheering  a  little  to  the  north  east  to 
gain  a  spur,  and  using  animal  tracks  when  they  served 
us.  Progress  was  very  slow,  the  undergrowth  vras 
dense  ;  berries  of  the  phrynium  and  fruit  of  the  Amomum 
fenessi  and  nux  vomica,  besides  the  large  wood  beans 
and  fungi  of  all  sorts,  were  numerous,  and  each  man 
gathered  a  plentiful  harvest.  ITnaccustomed  to  hills  for 
years,  our  hearts  palpitated  violently  as  we  breasted  the 


230  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     steep-wooded  slopes,   and  cut   and   slashed    at  tlic    ob- 
Oct.  Id.    gtructing  creepers,  Ijush  and  plants. 

Ah,  it  was  a  sad  night,  unutterably  sad,  to  see  so  many 
men  struggling  on  blindly  through  that  endless  forest, 
followino;  one  white  man  who  was  bound  whither  none 
knew,  whom  most  believed  did  not  know  himself.  They 
were  in  a  veritable  hell  of  hunger  pJready  !  What 
nameless  horrors  awaited  them  further  on  none  could 
conjecture  ?  But  what  matter,  death  comes  to  every 
man  soon  or  late  !  Therefore  we  pushed  on  and  on, 
In-oke  through  the  bush,  trampled  down  the  plants, 
wound  along  the  crest  of  spurs  zigzagging  from 
north-east  to  north-west,  and  descending  to  a  bowl- 
dike  valley  by  a  clear  stream,  lunched  on  our  corn  and 
berries. 

During  our  mid-day  halt,  one  Umari  having  seen 
some  magnificent  and  ripe  fenessi  at  the  top  of  a  tree 
thirty  feet  high,  essayed  to  climb  it,  but  on  gaining  that 
height,  a  branch  or  his  strength  yielded  and  he  tumbled 
headlong  upon  the  heads  of  two  other  men  who  were 
waiting  to  seize  the  fruit.  Strange  to  say,  none  of 
them  were  very  seriously  injured.  Umari  was  a  little 
lame  in  the  hip  and  one  of  those  upon  whom  he  fell 
complained  of  a  pain  in  the  chest. 

At  3.30  after  a  terril)lc  struoole  throuoh  a  suffocatins; 
wilderness  of  arums,  anioma,  and  bush,  we  came  to  a 
dark  amphitlicatral  glen  and  at  the  bottom  found  a 
(•aiii|)  just  deserted  l)y  tlie  natives,  and  in  such  hot  haste 
tli;it  llicy  liJid  tliouLiht,  it  best  not  to  burden  themselves 
with  I  heir  treasures.  Surely  some  divinity  provided  for 
us  always  iu  the  most  stressful  liours.  Two  Imshels  of 
Indiau  com,  and  a  liushcl  ot"  hcans  awaited  us  in  this 
("ini|). 

My  ])oor  (hnik('\'  from  /an/,il»ai'  sliowcd  symptoms 
of  surrender.  Arums  and  anioma  every  day  since 
June  28th  were  no  lit  food  lor  a,  (h'niit\^  Zanzibar  ass, 
therefore  to  end  liis  mi,-cr\-  I  shot.  him.  The  meat  was 
as  cai'cfully  shared  as  lli(.u<jh  it,  were  the  finest  venistm, 
for  a  wihl  and  famished  mob  threatened  to  defy  dis- 
eipHne.      When   tiie  meat  was  fuirlv  served   a  free  fiizht 


MY   DONKEY   JS   SHOT    FOB    FOOf).  281 

took  place  over  the  skin,  tlie  l)oiies  were  taken  up  and  i8S7. 
cruslied,  the  hoofe  were  boiled  for  hours,  there  was  ^^^^'  ^^ 
nothing  left  of  my  faithful  animal  but  the  spilled  blood 
and  hair  ;  a  pack  of  hyaenas  could  not  have  made  a  more 
thorough  disposal  of  it.  That  constituent  of  tlie  human 
])eing  which  marks  him  as  superior  to  all  others  of  the 
animal  creation  was  so  deadened  by  hunger  that  our  men 
had  become  merely  carnivorous  bipeds,  inclined  to  be  as 
ferocious  as  any  beast  of  prey. 

Ot»  the  16th  we  crossed  through  fnir  deep  gorges 
one  after  another,  through  wonderful  growths  of  phrynia. 
The  trees  frequently  bore  feuessl  nearly  ripe,  one  foot 
long  and  eight  inches  in  diameter.  Some  of  this  fruit 
was  equal  to  pineapple,  it  was  certainly  wholesome. 
Even  the  rotten  fruit  was  not  rejected.  When  the 
fenessi  were  absent,  the  wood-bean  'tree  flourished  and 
kindly  sprinkled  the  ground  with  its  fruit.  Nature 
seemed  to  confess  that  the  wanderers  had  borne  enough 
of  pain  and  grief  The  deepest  solitudes  showed 
increasing  tenderness  for  the  w^eary  and  long-suffering. 
The  phrynia  gave  us  their  brightest  red  berries,  the 
amoma  furnished  us  with  the  finest  and  ripest  scarlet  fruit, 
the  feneMi  were  in  a  state  of  perfection,  the  wood-beans 
were  larger  and  ffitter,  the  streams  of  the  wood  glens 
were  clear  and  cold  ;  no  enemy  was  in  sight,  nothing  was 
to  be  feared  but  hunger,  and  nature  did  its  best  with 
her  unknown  treasures,  shaded  us  with  her  fragrant  and 
loving  shades,  and  whispered  to  us  unspeakable  things 
sweetly  and  tenderly. 

During  the  mid-day  halt  the  men  discussed  our  pro- 
spects. They  said,  with  solenni  shaking  of  their  heads, 
"  Know  you  that  such  and  such  a  man  is  dead  ?  that  the 
other  is  lost !  another  will  probably  fall  this  afternoon  ! 
the  rest  will  perish  to-morrow  !  "  The  trumpet  sum- 
moned all  to  their  feet,  to  marcli  on,  and  sti'ive,  and 
press  forward  to  the  goal. 

Half-an-hour  later  the  pioneers  broke  through  a 
growth  of  amoma,  and  stepped  on  a  road.  And  lo  ! 
on  everv  tree  we  saw  the  peculiar  "blaze"  of  the 
Manyuema,  a  discovery  that  was  transmitted  by  every 


232  IN  DARKEST  AFBICA. 

1887.     voice  from  the  head  to  the  rear  of  tlic  coliunii,  and  was 
Oct.  16.    i.g(3giygj  ^-j^}^  iubilant  cheers. 

"  Which  way,  sir  ?  "  asked  the  delighted  pioneers. 

"■  Right  turn  of  course,"  I  replied,  feeling  far  more 
glad  than  any,  and  fuller  of  longings  for  the  settlement 
that  was  to  end  this  terrible  period,  and  shorten  the 
misery  of  Nelson  and  his  dark  followers. 

"  Please  God,"  thev  said,  "  to-morrow  or  the  next  day 
we  shall  have  food,"  which  meant  that  after  suffering 
unappeasable  hunger  for  336  hours,  they  could  patiently 
wait  if  it  pleased  God  another  thirty-six  or  sixty  hours 
more. 

We  were  all  frightfully  thin,  the  whites  not  so  much 
reduced  as  our  coloured  men.  We  thought  of  the 
future  and  aljounded  with  hope,  though  deep  depression 
followed  any  inspection  of  the  people.  We  regretted 
that  our  followers  did  not  have  greater  faith  in  us. 
Hunger  followed  })y  despair  killed  many.  Many  freely 
expressed  their  thoughts  and  declared  to  one  another 
plainly  that  we  knew  not  whither  we  were  marching.  And 
thev  were  not  far  wron^:,  for  who  knew  what  a  dav 
might  })ring  forth  in  unexplored  depths  of  woods.  But 
as  they  said,  it  was  their  fate  to  follow  us,  and  therefore 
they  followed  fate.  They  had  fared  badly  and  had 
suffered  greatl}'.  It  is  hard  to  walk  at  all  when  weak- 
ness sets  in  tlirough  emptiness  ;  it  is  still  worse  to  do 
so  when  })urdened  witli  sixty  pounds  weight.  Over 
fifty  were  yet  in  fair  coiulitioii  ;  150  were  skeletons 
covered  with  ashy  grey  skins,  jaded  and  worn  out,  with 
cvci'v  sinji  of  wi'ctchedness  printed  deep  in  their  eyes, 
ill  tlicir  b()<li('s  jind  movements.  These  could  hardly 
do  moi'c  than  creep  on  and  moan,  and  shed  tears  and 
sigh.  My  only  dog  "  Randy,"  alas  !  how  feeble  he  had 
liecome  !  Mcnt  lie  Ii.kI  nol  tasted — except  with  me  of 
the  ass's  meat  — for  weeks.  Parched  corn  and  beans 
were  not  lit  for  a  Icrricr,  iwu}  ffDcssi  and  mahengu,  and 
such  other  acid  fniil  lie  disdained,  and  so  he  declined, 
until  lie  became  as  LTiiuiil  ;is  tlie  ])ariah  of  a  Moslem. 
Stairs  had  nevei-  faile(|  me.  Jephson  every  now  and 
tlicii  liad  been  Ibrtunali'  in  discoveries  of  grain  treasures, 


WE  STB  IKE   THE    TRACK   OF   THE  MANYUEMA.      283 

and  always  showed  an  indomitable  front,  and  Parke  was     issy. 
ever  striving,  patient,  cheerful  and  gentle.     Deep,  deep   ^'^t- ^^• 
down  to  undiscovered  depths  our  life  in  the  forest  had     ^"^®*** 
enabled   me   to  penetrate  human    nature    with   all   its 
endurance  and  virtues. 

Along  the  track  of  the  Manyuema  it  was  easy  to  travel. 
Sometimes  we  came  to  a  maze  of  roads ;  but  once  the 
general  direction  was  found,  there  was  no  difficulty  to 
point  to  the  right  one.  It  appeared  to  be  well  travelled, 
and  it  was  clearer  every  mile  that  we  were  approaching 
a  populous  settlement.  As  recent  tracks  became  more 
numerous,  the  bush  seemed  more  broken  into,  with  many 
a  halt  and  many  wayward  strayings.  Here  and  there 
trees  had  been  lopped  of  their  branches.  Cording  vines 
lay  frequenth'  on  the  track  ;  pads  for  native  carriers 
had  often  been  dropped  in  haste.  Most  of  the  morning 
was  expended  in  crossing  a  score  of  lazy,  oozy  rillets, 
which  caused  large  breadths  of  slime-covered  swamp. 
Wasps  attacked  the  column  at  one  crossing,  and  stung  a 
man  into  high  fever,  and  being  in  such  an  emaciated 
condition  there  was  little  chance  of  his  recovery.  After  a 
march  of  seven  miles  soutli-eastwardly  we  halted  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  17th. 

The  night  was  ushered  l)y  a  tempest  which  threatened 
to  uproot  the  forest  and  bear  it  to  the  distant  west, 
accompanied  by  floods  of  rain,  and  a  severe  cold 
temperature.  Nevertheless,  fear  of  famishing  drove  us 
to  begin  the  march  at  an  early  hour  on  the  following 
day.  In  about  an  hour  and-a-half  we  stood  on  the 
confines  of  a  large  clearing,  but  the  fog  was  so  dense 
that  we  could  discern  nothing  further  than  200  feet  in 
front.  Resting  awhile  to  debate  upon  our  course,  we 
heard  a  sonorous  voice  singina'  in  a  lanouao-e  none  of 
US  knew,  and  a  lusty  hail  and  an  argument  with  v/hat 
appeared  to  be  some  humour.  As  this  was  not  a  land 
where  aborigines  would  dare  to  be  so  light-hearted  and 
frivolous,  this  singing  we  believed  could  proceed  from 
no  other  people  than  those  who  knew  they  had  nothing 
to  fear.  I  fired  a  Winchester  rapidly  in  the  air.  The 
response  by  heavy-loaded  muskets  revealed  that  these 


234 


IN   DjnKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Oct.  17. 
Forest. 


were  the  Maiiyuema  whom  we  had  been  so  long  seeking, 
and  scarcely  had  their  echoes  ceased  their  reverberations 
than  the  caravan  relieved  its  joy  by  long  continued 
hurrahs. 

We  descended  the  slope  of  the  clearing  to  a  little 
valley,  and  from  all  sides  of  an  opposite  slope  were  seen 
lines  of  men  and  women  issuing  to  welcome  us  with 
friendly  hails.  We  looked  to  the  right  and  left  and 
saw  thriving  fields,  Indian  corn,  rice,  sweet  potatoes  and 
beans.       The    well-known    sounds     oi    Arab     greeting 


KILUNliA    LONliA's    STATION. 


and  liosj)ital)](,'  tciidcis  oi'  Jricii(lslii|»  l)iirst  upon  our 
ears;  and  «>iii'  ii.-inds  were  soon  dnspcMl  l)v  lusty  huge 
follows,  who  sc.cnicd  1o  ciijdN'  life,  in  the  wilds  as  much 
as  lliey  could  have  (■nj(»ycd  i(;  in  their  own  lands. 
These  came  prin(;ip;ill\'  I'lom  Maiiyuema,  though  their 
no  less  stout  slaves,  .'iiiiicd  wilh  percussion  nuiskets  and 
cai'l)ine,  e<'hoed  Ix'-arlih'  t  Inir  supei'iors' sentiments  and 
professions  . 

We  were  conihictcd    ii|)  tlic   sloping  cleai'ing  through 
fields    of    ju.xuriant.    grain,     liy     lioops     of    nuni     and 


THANKSGIVING.  235 

youngsters  wlio   wore  irrepressibly   frolicsome   in  their     ihh?. 
joy    at    the  new    arrivals    and    dawning    promise    of   a    ^''^'  ^^^ 
holiday.     On  arrival  at  the  village  we  were  invited  to      '"' "' 
take  our  seats  in  deep  shady  verandahs  where  we  soon 
had  to  answer  to  hosts  of  questions  and  congratulations. 
As  the   caravan  filed  past  us   to   its    allotted   quarters 
wdiich  men  were  appointed  to  show,  numerous  were  the 
praises    to    God,   uttered    hy  them   for  our  marvellous 
escapes  from  the  terrible  wilderness  that  stretched  from 
their    settlement    of   Ipoto    to    the  Basopo    Cataract,  a 
distance  of  197  miles,  praises  in  which  in  our  inmost 
hearts  each  one  of  our  sorely  tried  caravan  most  heartily 
joined. 


236  iM  DARKEST  AFRICA 


Oct.  18 
Ipoto. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WITH    THE    MANYUEMA    AT    IPOTO. 

The  ivory  hunters  at  Ipoto — Their  mode  of  proceeding — The  Manyiiema 
headmen  and  their  raids — Eemedy  for  preventing  wholesale  devasta- 
tions —  Crusade  preached  by  Cardinal  Lavigerie  —  Our  Zanzibar 
chiefs — Anxiety  respecting  Captain  Nelson  and  his  followers — Our 
men  sell  their  weapons  for  food — Theft  of  Rities— Their  return 
demanded — Uledi  turns  uji  with  news  of  the  missing  chiefs — Con- 
tract drawn  up  with  the  Manyuema  headmen  for  the  relief  of 
Captain  Nelson — Jephson's  report  on  his  journey — Eeportsof  Captain 
Nelson  and  Surgeon  Parke — The  process  of  blood  brotherhood 
l)etween  myself  and  Ismaili — We  leave  Ipoto. 

1887.  This  community  of  ivory  hunters  establislied  at  Ipoto 
had  arrived,  hve  months  previous  to  our  coming,  from 
the  banks  of  tlie  I.uahiba,  from  a  point  situated  be- 
tween the  exits  of  the  Lowwa  and  the  Leopold  into 
the  great  river.  The  journey  had  occupied  them  seven- 
and-a-half  months,  and  they  had  seen  neither  grass  nor 
open  country,  nor  even  heard  of  them  during  their 
wanderings.  They  liad  halted  a  month  at  Kinnena  on 
the  Lindi,  and  had  built  a  station-house  for  their  Chief 
Kilonga-Longa,  wlio,  wlien  he  liad  joined  them  with  the 
main  body,  scut  on  .ibout  200  guns  and  200  slave 
carriers  to  strike  riiiilici'  in  a  north-easterly  direction, 
to  discovoi'  some  otlicr  [jiospei'ous  settlement  far  in 
advance  of  liiin,  w  liciicc,  they  could  sally  out  in  bands  to 
destroy,  Imiii  and  enslave  natives  in  exchange  for 
ivory.  Through  c<)iiiinn;il  (iglit ing,  and  1  he  carelessness 
wliicli  the  unbalanced  mind  is  so  apt  to  fall  into  after 
one  or  more  liappy  successes,  they  had  decreased  in 
iiumher  wiihni  se\en-;in<l-a-1i;d("  months  into  a  force  of 
ahout,  ninety  guns.  On  reaching  the  I iCnda  River  they 
had  heard  of  the  settlements  of  Ugarrowwa,  and  sheered 


THE  JVOIiY   HUNTERS   AT  IPO  TO.  237 

off'  the  limits  of  his  raiding  circle  to  obtain  a  centre  of     isk7. 
their  own,  and,  crossing  the  Lenda,  they  succeeded  in    ^'■*-  ^^• 
reaching  the  south   bank  of  the  Ituri,  about  south  of    ^P"*"" 
their  present  settlement  at  Ipoto. 

As  the  natives  would,  not  assist  them  over  the  river 
to  the  north  bank,  they  cut  down  a  big  tree  and  with 
axe  and  fire  hollowed  it  into  a  sizeable  canoe  which 
conveyed  them  across  to  the  north  bank  to  Ipoto. 
Since  that  date  they  had  launched  out  on  one  of  the 
most  sanguinary  and  destructive  careers  to  which  even 
Tippu-Tib's  or  Tagamoyo's  career  offer  but  poor  com- 
parison. Towards  the  Lenda  and  Ihuru  Rivers,  they 
had  levelled  into  black  ashes  every  settlement,  their 
rage  for  destruction  had  even  been  vented  on  the 
plaintain  groves,  every  canoe  on  the  rivers  had  been 
split  into  pieces,  every  island  had  been  searched,  and 
into  the  darkest  recesses,  whither  a  slight  track  could  be 
traced,  they  had  penetrated  with  only  one  dominating 
passion,  which  was  to  kill  as  many  of  the  men  and 
capture  as  many  of  the  women  and  children  as  craft  and 
cruelty  would  enable  them.  However  far  northward  or 
eastw^ard  these  people  had  reached,  one  said  nine  days' 
march,  another  fifteen  days  ;  or  wherever  they  had  gone 
they  had  done  precisely  as  we  had  seen  betw^een  the 
Lenda  River  and  Ipoto,  and  reduced  the  forest  land  into 
a  howling  wilderness,  and  throughout  all  the  immense 
area  had  left  scarcely  a  hut  standing. 

AVhat  these  destroyers  had  left  of  groves  and  planta- 
tions of  plaintain  and  bananas,  manioc,  and  corn-fields, 
the  elephant,  chimpanzee,  and  monkeys  had  trampled 
and  crushed  into  decaying  and  putrid  muck,  and  in 
their  places  had  sprung  up,  with  the  swdftness  of  mush- 
rooms, whole  hosts  of  large-leafed  plants  native  to  the 
soil,  briars,  calamus  and  bush,  which  the  natives  had  in 
times  past  suppressed  with  their  knives,  axes  and  hoes. 
With  each  season  the  bush  grew  more  robust  and  taller, 
and  a  few  seasons  only  were  wanted  to  cover  all  traces 
of  former  habitation  and  labour. 

From  Ipoto  to  the  Lenda  the  distance  by  our  track  is 
105  miles.    Assume  that  this  is  the  distance  eastward  to 


238  73V-  DABKEST  AFBTCA. 

1887.  which  their  ravages  have  extended,  and  northward  and 
^''■-  ^^'  southward,  and  we  have  something  like  44,000  square 
^"^'*"  miles.  We  know  what  Ugarrowwa  has  done  from  the 
preceding  pages,  what  he  was  still  doing  with  all  the 
vigour  of  his  mind,  and  w^e  know  what  the  Arabs  in  the 
Stanley  Falls  are  doing  on  the  Lumami  and  what  sort 
of  devil's  work  Munii  ^luhala,  and  Bwana  Mohamed 
are  perpetrating  around  Lake  Ozo,  the  source  of  the 
Lulu,  and,  once  we  know  where  their  centres  are 
located,  we  niay  with  a  pair  of  compasses  draw  great 
circles  round  each,  and  park  off  areas  of  40,000  and 
50,000  square  miles  into  which  half-a-dozen  resolute 
men,  aided  by  their  hundreds  of  bandits,  have  divided 
about  three-fourths  of  the  Great  Upper  Congo  Forest 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  murder,  and  becoming  heirs  to  a 
few  hundred  tusks  of  ivory. 

At  the  date  of  our  arrival  at  Ipoto,  there  were  i\vQ 
JManyuema  lioadmen,  physically  line  stalwart  fellows, 
named  Ismailia,  Khamisi,  and  Sangarameni,  who  were 
responsil)]e  to  Kilonga-Longa,  their  chief,  for  the  followers 
and  operations  entrusted  to  their  charge.  At  alternate 
periods  cacli  set  out  from  Ipoto  to  his  own  special 
Kub-disti'ict.  'J'hus,  to  Ismailia,  all  roads  fr(mi  Ipoto  to 
Il)wiri  and  east  to  the  Ituri  were  given  as  his  special 
chai'i'e.  Khamisi's  area  was  alouix  the  line  of  the 
Ihuru,  tlien  east  to  Ibwiii,  to  Sangarameni  all  the  land 
oast  and  west  between  tlie  Ibiua  and  Ihuru  affluents  of 
the  Itiiri.  Altogetlicr  tliei-(^.  wciv,  150  lighting  men,  but 
only  about  90  M'ere  .hiikmI  witli  guns.  Kilonga-Longa 
was  still  at  Kiiiucu;!,  ;ind  w;is  ]iot  expected  for  three 
months  yet. 

The  lighting  incn  under  llic  llirec  leaders  consisted  of 
liakusu,  JialcgiiJi,  .•ind  Iwisoiigora-,  youths  who  were 
trniiicd  by  th(5  Abinyucnia.  as  ]-aidei's  in  the  forest  region, 
in  llni  s;ini<',  jnnniicr  ;is  in  I87('>,  JManyuema  youths  had 
been  ti'aincd  ])y  vVrnbs  iind  AVaswahili  of  tlie  east  coast. 
\V(;  see  in  lliis  cxI  r.-ioi-diiiiiry  incicasc  in  iiumber  of 
i'aid(!rs  in  Ihc,  I  qtpci-  ( 'ongo  Icisin  Ihc  iViiits  of  the  Arab 
policy  of  killin'j  "II  IIk'  adull  nborigines  and  preserving 
the  children.     Tiic  girls  ai-e  distributed  among  the  Arab, 


THE  MANYUEMA    HEADMEN  ANT)    rUETIi    RAIDS.       280 

Swaliili  and  Manyuema  harems,  the  boys  arc  trained  i887. 
to  carry  arms  and  are  exercised  in  the  use  of  them.  '■^^^-  ^^• 
When  they  are  grown  tall  and  strong  enough  they  are  ^p°*°' 
rewarded  with  wives  from  the  female  servants  of  the 
harem,  and  then  are  admitted  partners  in  these  bloody 
ventures.  So  many  parts  of  the  profits  are  due  to  the 
great  proprietor,  such  as  Tippu-Tib,  or  Said  bin  Abed,  a 
less  number  becomes  the  due  of  the  headmen,  and  the 
remainder  becomes  the  property  of  the  bandits.  At 
other  times  large  ivories,  over  35  lbs,  each,  become  the 
property  of  the  proprietor,  all  over  20  lbs.  to  35  lbs. 
belong  to  the  headmen,  scraps,  pieces  and  young  ivory 
are  permitted  to  be  kept  by  the  lucky  finders.  Hence 
every  member  of  the  caravan  is  inspired  to  do  his  best. 
The  caravan  is  well  armed  and  well  manned  by  the  pro- 
prietor, who  stays  at  home  on  the  Congo  or  Lualaba  river 
indulging  in  rice  and  pilaf  and  the  excesses  of  his  harem, 
the  headmen,  inspired  by  greed  and  cupidity,  become 
ferocious  and  stern,  the  bandits  fling  themselves  upon  a 
settlement  without  mercy  to  obtain  the  largest  share  of 
loot,  of  children,  flocks,  poultry,  and  ivory. 

All  this  would  be  clearly  beyond  their  power  if  they 
possessed  no  gunpowder.  Not  a  mile  beyond  their 
settlements  would  the  Arabs  and  their  followers  dare 
venture.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  if  gunpowder  was 
prohibited  entry  into  Africa  there  would  be  a  general 
and  quick  migration  to  the  sea  of  all  Arabs  from  inner 
Africa,  as  the  native  Chiefs  would  be  immeasurably 
stronger  than  any  combination  of  Arabs  armed  with 
spears.  What  possible  chance  could  Tippu-Tib,  Abed  bin 
Salini,  Uoarrowwa  and  Kilono;a-Lonoa  have  aoaiust  the 
Basongora  and  Bakusu  ?  How  could  the  Arabs  of  Ujiji 
resist  the  Wajiji  and  Warundi,  or  how  could  those  of 
Unyamyembe  live  among  the  bowmen  and  spearmen  of 
Unyamwezi  ? 

There  is  only  one  remedy  for  these  wholesale  devas- 
tations of  African  aborigines,  and  that  is  the  solemn 
combination  of  England,  Germany,  France,  Portugal, 
South  and  East  Africa,  and  Congo  State  against  the 
introduction    of    gunpowder    into    any     part    of     the 


240  IN   DARKEST  AFIIICA. 

1887.  Continent  except  for  the  use  of  their  own  agents, 
Oct.  18.  soldiers,  and  employes,  or  seizing  upon  every  tusk  of 
^°  °'  ivory  brought  out,  as  there  is  not  a  single  piece  nowa- 
days wdiich  has  been  gained  lawfully.  Every  tusk, 
piece  and  scrap  in  the  possession  of  an  Arab  trader  has 
been  steeped  and  dyed  in  blood.  Every  pound  weight 
has  cost  the  life  of  a  man,  woman  or  child,  for  every  five 
pounds  a  hut  has  been  burned,  for  every  two  tusks  a 
whole  village  has  been  destroyed,  every  twenty  tusks 
have  been  obtained  at  the  price  of  a  district  with  all  its 
people,  villages  and  plantations.  It  is  simply  incredible 
that,  because  ivory  is  required  for  ornaments  or  billiard 
games,  the  rich  heart  of  Africa  should  be  laid  waste  at 
this  late  year  of  the  nineteenth  century,  signalized  as  it 
has  been  by  so  nmch  advance,  that  populations,  tribes 
and  nations  should  be  utterly  destroyed.  Whom  after 
all  does  this  bloody  seizure  of  ivory  enrich  ?  Only  a 
few  dozens  of  half-castes,  Arab  and  Negro,  who,  if  due 
justice  were  dealt  to  them,  should  be  made  to  sweat  out 
the  remainder  of  their  piratical  lives  in  the  severest 
penal  servitude. 

On  arriviiio-  in  civilization  after  these  terrible  dis- 
coveries,  I  was  told  of  a  crusade  that  had  been  preached 
by  Cardinal  Lavigerie,  and  of  a  rising  desire  in  Europe  to 
effect  })y  force  of  arms  in  the  old  crusader  style  and  to 
attack  the  Arabs  and  their  followers  in  their  strongholds 
in  Central  Africa.  It  is  just  such  a  scheme  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  men  who  applauded  (xordon  when 
lie  set  out  with  a  white  wand  and  six  followers  to  rescue 
all  the  garrisons  of  tlic  Soudan,  a  task  which  14,000  of 
his  couiitrymcii,  iiiidcr  (die  of  the  most  skilful  English 
generals,  would  lutxc  foiiiiil  impossible  at  that  date. 
We  piidc  ourselves  u[)oii  being  ])ra('tical  and  sensible 
men,  and  \'et  cvcrN'  now  and  then  let  S(mie  enthusiast — 
wiM'tliei'  (dad,>t<»ne,  (lordon,  Lavdgerie  or  another — 
Kj>eak,  and  a  \\a\c  of  <^>ui.\otism  spi'eads  over  many 
lands.  The  lasl  tiling  I  liea^d  in  connection  with  this 
mad  projcci  IS  tlial  a  l»an<l  of  lOO  Swedes,  who  have 
sui)seribed  t'll)  each,  are  aboul  to  sail  to  some  part  of 
the   East  Coast  of  Alrica,  and   prcx-eed   to  Tanganika    to 


ANXIETY  RESPECTING  NELSON  AND  THE  Slt'K  CAMP.     241 

commence  ostensibly  the  extirpation  of  the  Arab  slave-      i887. 
trader,  but  in  reality  co  commit  suicide.  ^''^-  ^^* 

However,   these    matters   are   not   the   object  of   this     ''*''"''' 
chapter.    We  are  about  to  have  a  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  morals  of  the  Manyuema,  and  to  under- 
stand them  better  than  we  ever  expected  we  should. 

They  had  not  heard  a  word  or  a  whisper  of  our  Head- 
men whom  Ave  had  despatched  as  couriers  to  obtain  relief 
for  Nelson's  party,  and,  as  it  was  scarcely  j)ossible  that 
a  starving  caravan  would  accomplish  the  distance  be- 
tween Nelson's  Camp  and  Ipoto  before  six  active  and 
intelligent  men,  we  began  to  fear  that  among  the  lost 
men  we  should  have  to  number  our  Zanzibari  chiefs. 
Their  track  was  clear  as  far  as  the  crossing-place  of  the 
14th  and  15tli  December.  It  w^as  most  probable  that 
the  witless  men  would  continue  up  the  river  until  they 
were  overpow^ered  by  the  savages  of  some  unknown 
village.  Our  minds  were  never  free  from  anxiety 
respecting  Capt.  Nelson  and  his  followers.  Tliirteen 
days  had  already  elapsed  since  our  parting.  During  this 
]ieriod  their  position  was  not  worse  than  ours  had  been. 
The  forest  was  around  them  as  it  was  aiound  us.  They 
were  not  loaded  dow^n  as  w^e  w^ere.  The  most  active 
men  could  search  about  for  food,  or  they  could  employ 
their  canoes  to  ferry  themselves  over  to  the  scene  of  the 
forage  of  the  3rd  December,  one  day's  journey  by  land, 
or  an  hour  by  water.  Berries  and  fungi  abounded  on 
the  crest  of  the  hills  above  their  camp  as  in  other  parts. 
Yet  w^e  were  anxious,  and  one  of  my  first  duties  was  to 
try  and  engage  a  relief  party  to  take  foor".  to  Nelson's 
camp.  I  was  promised  that  it  should  be  arranged  next 
day. 

For  ourselves  we  received  three  goats  and  twelve 
baskets  of  Indian  corn,  which,  when  distributed,  gave 
six  ears  of  corn  per  man.  It  furnished  us  with  two  good 
meals,  and  many  must  have  felt  revived  and  refreshed, 
as  I  did. 

On  the  first  day's  halt  at  Ipoto  we  suffered  consider- 
able lassitude.  Nature  either  furnishes  a  stomach  and 
no  food,  or  else  furnishes  a   feast   and   robs  us   of  all 

VOL.  I.  (I 


242  JX   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  appetite.  On  the  day  before,  and  on  this,  we  liad  fed 
Oct.  18.  sumptuously  on  rice  and  pihif  and  goat  stew,  but  now 
^°  "■  we  began  to  suffer  from  many  illnesses.  The  masticators 
had  forgotten  their  office,  and  the  digestive  organs 
disdained  the  dainties,  and  affected  to  be  deranged. 
Seriously,  it  was  the  natural  result  of  over-eating  ;  corn 
mush,  grits,  parched  corn,  beans  and  meat  are  solids 
requiring  gastric  juice,  which,  after  being  femished  for 
so  many  days,  was  not  in  sufficient  supply  for  the  eager 
demand  made  for  it. 

The  Manyuema  had  about  300  or  400  acres  under 
corn,  five  acres  under  rice,  and  as  many  under  beans. 
Sugar-cane  was  also  grown  largely.  They  possessed 
about  100  poats — all  stolen  from  the  natives.  In  their 
store-huts  they  had  immense  supplies  of  Indian  corn 
drawn  from  some  village  near  the  Ihuru,  and  as  yet 
unshucked.  Their  banana  plantations  were  well  stocked 
with  fruit.  Indeed  tlie  condition  of  every  one  in  the 
settlement  was  prime. 

It  is  but  right  to  acknowledge  that  we  were  received 
on  the  first  day  with  ostentatious  kindness,  but  on  the 
third  day  something  of  a  strangeness  sprang  up  between 
us.  1'lieir  cordiality  probably  rose  from  a  belief  that 
our  loads  ccnitained  some  desirable  articles,  l>ut  unfortu- 
nately the  first-class  Ijeads  that  would  have  sufficed  for 
the  purchase  of  all  their  stock  of  corn  were  lost  by  the 
capsizing  of  a  canoe  near  Panga  Falls,  and  the  gold 
l)raidcd  Aiab  biiniooses  were  stolen  beh)w  Ugarrowwa, 
by  deserters.  Disa2)pointed  at  not  receiving  the  expected 
(juantity  of  fine  doth  or  Jiiie  l)eads,  they  proceeded 
systematically  lo  iciiipt  our  men  to  sell  everything  they 
possessed,  sliirts,  (^aps,  daoles,  waist  cloths,  knives,  belts, 
to  w]ii<'h,  ])oing  tlicir  personal  property,  we  could  make  no 
objection.  I>ut  llic  hirky  owners  of  such  articles  having 
been  seen  l)y  ollicrs  less  fortunate,  hugely  enjoying 
varieties  of  succulent  food,  were  the  means  of  inspiring 
the  latter  to  envy  and  finally  to  theft.  The  unthrifty 
;in<l  ivckjrss  men  sold  I  heir  ;iniMiunition,  accoutrements, 
bill  hooks,  raniiods,  und  linally  their  Ivemington  Rifies. 
Tliiis,  after  escaping  the  terrible  dangers  ot  starvation 


OUR    MEN   SI'JJ.L    Til  KIR    W  KARONS   FOR    FOOD.        243 

and  such  injuries  as  the  many  savage  tribes  coukl  inllict     18H7. 
on  us,  we  were  in  near  peril  of  becoming  slaves  to  the    ^''^'  *^' 
Arab  slaves.  ^" "' 

Despite  entreaties  for  corn,  we  could  obtain  no  more 
than  two  ears  per  man  per  day.  I  promised  to  pay 
triple  price  for  everything  received,  on  the  arrival  of 
the  rear  column,  but  with  these  people  a  present 
possession  is  better  than  a  prospective  one.  They 
professed  to  doubt  that  we  had  cloth,  and  to  believe 
that  we  had  travelled  all  this  distance  to  fight  them. 
We  represented  on  the  other  hand  that  all  we  needed 
were  six  ears  of  corn  per  day  during  nine  days'  rest. 
Three  rifles  disappeared.  The  Headmen  denied  all 
knowledge  of  them.  We  were  compelled  to  reflect  that, 
if  it  were  true,  they  suspected  we  entertained  sinister 
intentions  towards  them,  that  surely  the  safest  and 
craftiest  policy  would  be  to  purchase  our  arms  secretly, 
and  disarm  us  altogether,  wdien  they  could  enforce  what 
terms  they  pleased  on  us. 

On  the  21st  six  more  rifles  w^ere  sold.  At  this  rate 
the  Expedition  would  be  wrecked  in  a  short  time, 
for  a  body  of  men  without  arms  in  the  heart  of  the 
great  forest,  with  a  host  of  men  to  the  eastward  and  a 
large  body  to  the  w^estward  depending  upon  them,  were 
lost  beyond  hope  of  salvation.  Both  advance  and 
retreat  were  equally  cut  ofl",  and  no  resource  would  be 
left  but  absolute  submission  to  the  chief  who  chose  to 
assert  himself  to  be  our  master  or  Death.  Therefore  I 
proposed  for  my  part  to  struggle  strongly  against  such 
a  fate,  and  either  to  provoke  it  instantly,  or  ward  it  off" 
by  prompt  action. 

A  muster  was  made,  the  five  men  without  arms  were 
sentenced  to  twenty-five  lashes  each  and  to  be  tied  up. 
After  a  considerable  fume  and  fuss  had  been  exhibited, 
a  man  stepped  up,  as  one  was  about  to  undergo  punish- 
ment and  begged  permission  to  speak. 

"  This  man  is  innocent,  sir."  "  I  have  his  rifle  in  my 
hut,  I  seized  it  last  night  from  Juma  (one  of  the  cooks), 
son  of  Forkali,  as  he  brought  it  to  a  Manyuema  to  sell. 
It  may  be  Juma  stole  it  from  this  man.     I  know  that 


244  IN   DAEKEST  AFRirA. 

1887.     all  these  meu  have  pleaded  that  their  rifles  ha\e  ])een 
"'^-  -'^-    stolen  by  others,  while  they  slept.     It  may  l)e  true  as 

jputo.  ^^^  ^i^^g  case."  Meantime  Jiima  had  flown,  but  was 
found  later  on  hiding'  in  the  corn  fields.  He  confessed 
that  he  had  stolen  two,  and  had  taken  them  to  the 
informer  to  be  disposed  of  for  corn,  or  a  goat,  but  it  was 
solely  at  the  instigation  of  the  informer.  It  may  have 
been  true,  for  scarcely  one  of  them  but  was  quite 
capable  of  such  a  course,  but  the  story  Avas  lame,  and 
unreasonable  in  this  case  and  Avas  rejected.  Another 
now  came  up  and  recognized  Juma  as  the  thief  who  had 
abstracted  his  rifle — and  having  proved  his  statement 
and  confession  having  been  made — the  prisoner  was 
sentenced  to  immediate  execution,  which  was  accord- 
ingly carried  out  l)y  hanging. 

It  now  being  proved  l)eyond  a  doul^t  that  the 
Manyuema  were  purchasing  our  rifles  at  the  rate  of  a 
few  ears  of  corn  per  gun,  I  sent  for  the  head  men,  and 
make  a  formal  demand  for  their  instant  restitution, 
otherwise  they  would  be  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences. They  were  inclined  to  be  wratliy  at  first, 
'•'hey  drove  the  Zanzibaris  from  the  village  out  into  the 
clearing,  and  there  was  every  prospect  of  a  fight,  or  as 
was  very  proba1)lo,  that  the  Expedition  was  about  to  be 
wrecked.  Our  men,  l)eing  so  utterly  demoralized,  and 
utterly  broken  in  spirit  from  Avhat  they  had  undergone, 
were  not  to  be  i-elied  on.  .-uid  as  they  were  ready  to  sell 
themselves  for  corn  llicic  was  little  chance  of  our 
winning  a  Aictory  in  case  of  a  sti'uggle.  It  requires 
fulness  of  stomach  to  be  l)ia\('.  At  the  same  time 
<lcatli  was  sure  to  conclude  us  in  any  event,  for  to 
remain  <|iiies(;ent  un<ler  sucli  ciicumstances  tended  to 
|)i-o(hice  an  nltiniaic  appeal  to  arms.  AV^ith  th(^se 
elex'eii  lilies,  :;()()()  i(inn«ls  uf  ammunition  luid  been  sold. 
No  opiK.n  preseiitecl  itself  to  me  tliaii  to  l)e  firm  in  my 
•  lematnl  lnr  ihc  liljcs  ;  ii  was  reiterated,  under  a  threat 
iliat  I  would  pidceed  to  take  otiier  meaiis — and  as  a 
prool  o|  ii  ilic\  lia<l  liui  Id  look  at  tlie  l»o(l\'  ]iant''inir 
ironi  a  tiec.  lor  il  \\  c  proceeded  to  sncli  extremities  as 
putting   to  death   one   ol    our  <»\vn    men,    they  certainly 


I])0t0. 


THEFT   OF   orn    1,'IFLFS.  245 

ought  to  know  that  we  should  feel  ourselves  perfectly     isht. 
prepared   to   take   vengeance   on   those  who  had  really    ^''*'  '^' 
caused  his  death  by  keeping  open  doors  to  receive  stolen 
property. 

After  an  hour's  storming  in  their  village  they  brought 
five  rifles  to  nie,  and  to  my  astonishment  pointed  the 
sellers  of  them.  Had  it  not  been  impolitic  in  the  first 
place  to  drive  things  to  the  extreme,  I  should  have 
declined  receiving  one  of  them  back  before  all  had  ])een 
returned,  and  could  I  have  been  assured  of  the  aid  of 
fifty  men  I  should  have  declared  for  a  fight ;  but  just  at 
this  juncture  Uledi,  the  faithful  coxswain  of  the 
Advance,  strode  into  camp,  bringing  news  that  the  boat 
was  safe  at  the  landing-place  of  Ipoto  and  of  his  dis- 
covery of  the  six  missing  chiefs  in  a  starving  and 
bewildered  state  four  miles  from  the  settlement.  This 
produced  a  revulsion  of  feelings.  Gratitude  for  the 
discovery  of  my  lost  men,  the  sight  of  Uledi — the 
knowledge  that  after  all,  despite  the  perverseness  of 
liuman  nature,  I  had  some  faithful  fellows,  left  me  for 
the  time  speechless. 

Then  the  tale  was  told  to  Uledi,  and  he  undertook  the 
business  of  eradicating  the  hostile  feelings  of  the  Man- 
yuema,  and  pleaded  with  me  to  let  bygones  be  bygones 
on  the  score  that  the  dark  days  were  ended,  and  happy 
days  he  was  sure  were  in  store  for  us. 

For  surely,  dear  master,"  he  said,  "  after  the  longest 
night  comes  day,  and  why  not  sunshine  after  darkness 
with  us  ?  I  think  of  how  many  long  nights  and  dark  days 
we  pulled  through  in  the  old  times  when  we  pierced 
Africa  together,  and  now  let  your  heart  l>e  at  peace. 
Please  God  we  shall  forget  our  trou])les  Itefore  long." 

The  culprits  were  ordered  to  be  bound  until  morning. 
Uledi,  with  his  bold  frank  way,  sailed  straight  into  the 
afi'ections  of  the  Manyuema  headmen.  Presents  of  corn 
were  brought  to  me,  apologies  were  made  and  accepted. 
The  corn  was  distributed  among  the  people,  and  we 
ended  this  troublesome  day,  which  had  brougiit  us  all  to 
the  verge  of  dissolution,  in  much  greater  content  than 
coulil  have  been  hoped  from  its  ominous  commeucement. 


^46  IN  dauktust  afrtca. 

1887.  Our  long  wandering  cliiefs  who  were  sent  as  heralds 
Oct.  23.  of  our  approach  to  Ipoto  arrived  on  Sunday  the  23rd, 
They  surely  had  made  but  a  fruitless  quest,  and  they 
found  us  old  residents  of  the  place  they  had  been  des- 
patched to  seek.  Haggard,  wan  and  feeble  from  seven- 
teen days  feeding  on  what  the  uninhabited  wilderness 
afforded,  they  were  also  greatly  abashed  at  their  failure. 
They  had  reached  the  Ibina  River  which  flows  from  the 
S.E.,  and  struck  it  two  days  above  the  confluence  with 
the  Ituri ;  they  had  then  followed  the  tributary  down  to 
the  junction,  had  found  a  canoe  and  rowed  across  to  the 
right  bank,  where  they  had  nearly  perished  frcnn  hunger. 
Fortunately  Uledi  had  discovered  them  in  time,  had 
informed  them  of  the  direction  of  Ipoto,  and  they  had 
crawled  as  they  best  could  to  our  camp. 

Before  night,  Sangarameni,  the  third  head  man,  ap- 
peared from  a  raid  with  fifteen  fine  ivories.  He  said 
he  had  penetrated  a  twenty  days'  journey,  and  from  a 
high  hill  had  viewed  an  open  country  all  grass  land. 

Out  of  a  supply  I  obtained  on  this  day  I  was  able  to 
give  two  ears  of  corn  per  man,  and  to  store  a  couple  of 
baskets  for  Nelson's  party.  But  events  were  not  pro- 
gressing smootldy,  I  could  ol)tain  no  favourable  answer 
to  my  entreaty'  for  a  relief  party.  One  of  our  men  had 
been  speared  to  death  by  the  Manyuema  on  a  charge  of 
stealing  corn  from  tlie  fields.  One  had  been  hanged, 
twenty  liad  been  flogged  for  stealing  ammunition, 
another  liad  recei\c(l  200  cuts  fi-om  the  Manyuema  for 
attempting  to  st(;al.  If  only  the  men  could  have 
reasoned  sensi})ly  dni-ing  these  days,  how  quickly 
matters  eoiild  ]i;i\e  been  setthMl  otliei-wise  ! 

I  had  sj)ok('n  and  warned  them  with  all  earnestness 
to  "  endure,  and  cheer  uj),"  and  tliat  there  wei-e  two 
Wfiys  of  settling-  ;ill  lliis,  Nut  liiat  I  was  afraid  of  them 
only,  foi-  they  ])reteire(l  the  icluse  of  tlie  Manvuema  to 
our  wan-es  ;ind  work.      The   .Mnnviieina  wei'c  i)rovine'  to 

.  ■      ,  JO 

Iheni  wh;it  the\'  nii<_;hl  expect  of  them;  and  witli  us 
the  worst-  d;i\s  were  o\-er  ;  all  we  had  to  do  was  to 
liiai'cli  beyond  the  utmost  reach  of  I  he  iManyuema  raids, 
when  wc  should    all    hcconie   as  j-obust  as  they.      Bah  I 


MANTUEMA  HEADMEN  AND  THE  HELIEE  OF  NELSON.     U7 

I  might  as  well  have  addressed  my  appeals  to  the  trees     i887. 
of  the  forest  as  unto  wretches  so  sodden  with  despaii'.         ^''*"  "'*■■ 

'J'he  Manyuemu  had  promised  me  three  several  times      '"'^ "' 
by  this  day  to   send  eighty  men  as  a  relief  party  to 
Nelson's  camp,    l)ut    the    arrival    of   Sangarameni,  and 
misunderstandings,  and  other  trifles,  had  disturbed  the 
arrangements. 

On  the  24tli  firing  was  heard  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  and,  under  the  plea  that  it  indicated  the  arrival  of 
Kilonga-Longa,  the  relief  caravan  was  again  prevented 
from  setting  out. 

The  next  day,  those  who  had  fired,  arrived  in  camp, 
and  proved  to  l)c  the  Manyuema  knaves  whom  we  had 
seen  on  the  2nd  of  (October.  Out  of  fifteen  men  they 
had  lost  one  man  from  an  arrow  wound.  They  liad 
w^andered  for  twenty-four  days  to  find  the  track,  but 
having  no  other  loads  than  provisions  these  had  lasted 
with  economy  for  fifteen  days,  but  for  the  last  nine  days 
they  had  subsisted  on  mushrooms  and  wild  fruit. 

On  this  evening  I  succeeded  in  drawing  a  contract,  and 
"•ettino^  the  three  headmen  to  aoree  to  the  followino; : — ■ 

"  To  send  thirty  men  to  the  relief  of  Captain  Nelson, 
with  400  ears  of  corn  for  his  party. 

"  To  provide  Captain  Nelson  and  Surgeon  Parke,  and 
all  sick  men  unable  to  work  in  the  fields,  with  pro- 
visions, until  our  return  from  Lake  Albert. 

"  The  service  of  a  guide  from  Ipoto  to  Ibwiri,  for 
which  they  were  to  be  paid  one  bale  and  a  half  of  cloth 
on  the  arrival  of  the  rear  column." 

It  was  drawn  up  in  Arabic  by  Eashid,  and  in  English 
by  myself,  and  witnessed  by  three  men. 

For  some  fancy  articles  of  personal  property  I  suc- 
ceeded in  purchasing  for  Mr.  Jephson  and  Capt.  Nelson 
250  ears  of  Indian  corn,  and  for  250  pistol  cartridges  I 
bought  another  quantity,  and  for  an  ivory-framed  mirror 
from  a  dressing-case  purchased  two  baskets  full ;  for 
three  bottles  of  ottar  of  roses  obtained  three  fowls,  so 
that  I  had  1000  ears  of  corn  for  the  relieving  and 
relieved  parties. 

On  the  26th  Mr.  Mounteney  Jephson,  forty  Zanzibaris, 


248  TN  DAHKEST  AFliJCA. 

1887.     and  thirty  Manyueiiia  .slaves  started  on  their  journey  to 
oot.  -26.    ;N^(3}gQi^'s    eamp.       I    cannot    do    better    than    introduce 
p"to-     jyjj^.  Jephson's  report  on  his  journey. 

"  Aral)  Settlement  at  Ipoto, 
"  Dear  Sir  "  ■^'owm6er  ^th,  1887. 

"  I  left  at  midday  on  October  'i6th,  and  arrived  at  the  river  and 
crossed  over  with  30  Mauyuema  and  -iO  Zanzibaris  nnder  my  charge  the 
same  afternoon  and  cafnped  on  landing.  The  next  morning  we  started 
off  early  and  reached  the  camp,  where  we  had  crossed  the  river,  when  we 
were  wandering  about  in  a  starving  condition  in  search  of  the  Arabs, 
by  midday  the  signs  and  arrow  heads  we  had  marked  on  the  trees  to 
show  the  chiefs  w^e  had  crossed  were  still  fresh.  I  reached  another  of 
our  camps  that  night.  The  next  day  we  did  nearly  three  of  our  former 
inarches.  The  camp  where  Feruzi  Ali  had  got  his  death  wound,  and 
where  we  had  spent  three  such  miserable  days  of  hunger  and  anxiety, 
looked  very  dismal  as  we  jjassetl  through  it.  During  the  day  we  passed 
the  skeletons  of  three  of  our  men  who  had  fallen  down  and  died  from 
sheer  starvation,  they  were  grim  reminders  of  the  misery  through  which 
"we  had  so  lately  gone. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  29tli  I  started  off  as  soon  as  it  was  day- 
light, determining  to  reach  Nelson  that  day  and  decide  the  question 
as  to  his  being  yet  alive.  Accompanied  by  one  man  only,  I  soon  found 
myself  far  ahead  of  my  followers.  As  I  neared  Nelson's  camp  a 
feverish  anxiety  to  know  his  fate  possessed  me,  and  I  pushed  on  through 
streams  and  creeks,  by  banks  and  bogs,  over  which  our  starving  people 
had  slowly  toiled  witli  the  boat  sections.  All  were  passed  by  quickly 
to-day,  and  again  the  skeletons  in  the  road  testified  to  the  trials  througli 
which  we  had  passed.  As  I  came  down  the  hill  into  Nelson's  camp,  not 
a  sound  Avas  heard  but  the  groans  of  two  dying  men  in  a  hut  close  by, 
the  whole  ])lace  liad  a  deserted  and  woe-begone  look.  I  came  quietly 
round  the  tent  and  fmnd  Nelson  sitting  there;  we  clasped  hands,  and 
then,  poor  fellow!  he  turned  away  and  sobbed,  and  muttered  something 
al)0ut  being  very  weak. 

"  Nelson  was  greatly  changed  in  appearance,  being  worn  and  haggard 
looking,  with  tleep  lines  about  his  eyes  and  mouth.  He  told  me 
his  anxiety  had  been  intense,  as  day  after  day  passed  and  no  relief 
came;  he  had  at  last  made  up  his  mind  that  something  had  happeneil 
to  us,  and  that  we  had  been  conipelUtd  to  abandon  him.  He  had 
lived  chiefly  ujion  fruits  and  fungus  which  his  iwo  boys  had  brought 
iu  from  day  to  day.  Of  the  hfty-two  men  you  left  with  him,  only 
five  I'ciiiained,  of  whom  two  were  in  a  dying  state.  All  the  rest  had 
either  deserted  him  or  were  dead. 

"  He  lias  hims(!lf  given  you  an  account  of  his  losses  from  death 
and  desertion.  1  gave  him  the  food  you  sent  him,  which  I  had 
carefully  watched  on  the  way,  and  he  had  one  of  the  chickens  and 
some  porridge  cook(;d  at  onc(%  it  was  the  first  nourishing  food  he 
had  tasted  for  many  days.  After  I  had  been  there  a  couple  of  hours 
my  jK'opIc-  ciini(!  in  and  ail  <'ro\vdt;d  round  the  tent  to  offer  him  their 
congratulations. 

"  V'ou  remenilicr  Nelson's  i'cct  hail  liccii  very  bad  for  some  days  before 
W(;  lelt  him,  he  had  hardly  left  the  tunt  llu!  whole  time  he  had  been  here. 
At  oiM'  time  he  luid  had  ten  idcers  on  one  foot,  l)ut  lie  had  now  recovered 
from  them  in  a  great  )neasur(!  and  said  h(!  thought  he  would  be  nbh^  to 
march  slowly.     On   the  ^Utli  wo   begun   tlie   rc;lurii  march.     1  gave  out 


BEPORTS  OF  JEPIISON,  NELFiON,  AX  J)  PJL'KE.       240 

most  or  tlio  loads  to  tlio  Maiiyuema  and  Zanziharis,  Imt  was  obliged  to  mm. 
leave  thirteen  boxes  of  ammunition  and  seven  other  loads,  these  1  l)uried,  Oct.  26 
and  Parke  will  be  able  to  fetch  tliem  later  on.  j    ^^ 

"  Nelson  did  the  marches  better  than  I  expected,  thongli  he  was  much  ' 
knocked  i;p  at  the  end  of  each  day.  On  the  return  inarch  we  crossed 
the  river  lower  down  and  made  our  way  up  the  right  bank  and 
struck  your  old  road  a  day's  march  from  the  Arab  camp.  Here  again  we 
passed  more  skeletons,  at  one  jjlace  there  were  three  within  1200  yards 
of  each  other. 

"  On  the  iifih  day,  that  is  November  3rd,  we  reached  the  Arab  camp, 
and  Nelson's  relief  was  accomjilished.  He  has  already  picked  up 
wonderfully  in  sj^ite  of  the  marching,  but  he  cannot  get  sleej)  at  night 
and  is  still  in  a  nervous  and  highly  strung  state ;  the  rest  in  the  Arab 
camp  will,  I  trust,  set  him  up  again.  It  is  certain  that  in  his  state  of 
health  he  could  not  liave  followed  us  in  our  wanderings  in  search  of 
food,  he  must  have  fallen  by  the  way. 

"  I  am  &c.,  &c. 
"(Signed)     A.  J.  Mountkney  jEPiihON." 

The  following  are  tlie  reports  of  Captain  Nelson  and 
Surgeon  Parke. 

o 

"  Arab  Village,  Ipoto, 
"  Dear  Sir,  "  ^*''  November,  1887. 

"  Mr.  Jephson  arrived  at  my  camp  on  the  29th  October  with  the 
men  for  the  loads  and  with  the  food  you  sent  for  me.  Many  thanks  for 
the  food,  it  was  badly  needed.  He  will  tell  you  what  state  he  found  me 
in  and  of  the  few  men  still  alive. 

"  You  left  me  on  the  6tli  October  last;  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  T  got 
up  a  canoe  and  sent  Umari  and  thirteen  of  the  best  men  I  could  find 
(they  were  all  very  bad)  over  the  river  to  look  for  food.  On  the  8th 
Assani  (No.  1  Company)  came  to  me  and  said  that  he  had  returned  from 
the  column  sick.  Same  day  Uledi's  brother  came  into  camp,  told  me  he 
had  lost  the  road  while  looking  for  bananas,  near  the  camp,  where  we 
met  the  Manyuema.  On  the  10th  I  found  that  Juma,  one  of  Stairs' 
chiefs,  had  cleared  in  the  night  with  ten  men,  and  stolen  a  canoe  and  gone 
down  river.  On  the  l.tli  I  counted  the  men  and  coiild  only  find  seven- 
teen (I  had  fifty-two  the  first  day) ;  the  rest  had  gone  away  either  after 
tlie  column  or  down  river.  On  the  lith  one  man  died.  Umari  returned 
with  very  few'  bananas,  about  enough  for  two  days ;  however,  they  were 
very  welcome,  as  I  had  nothing  but  herbs  and  fungi  to  eat  up  to  this 
time.  On  the  15th  another  man  died,  and  1  found  that  Saadi  (No.  I.) 
with  some  other  men  had  come  into  camp  in  the  night  and  stolen  the 
canoe  (Umari  had  re-crossed  the  river  in)  and  gone  down  river.  On  the 
17th  Umari  went  away  with  twenty- one  men  to  look  for  food;  19th,  man 
died ;  22nd,  two  men  died ;  23r.l,  man  died  ;  29th,  two  men  died  ;  Jeph- 
son arrived ;  30th,  one  man  died  ;  we  left  camjD  on  way  here.  Umari  had 
not  returned;  he,  however,  if  alive,  will  come  on  here,  1  feel  sure,  but 
how  many  men  with  him  I  cannot  tell,  perhaps  five  or  six  may  reach 
here  with  him.  "With  the  exception  of  the  few  bananas  I  got  from  Umari 
I  lived  entirely  on  herbs,  fungi,  and  a  few  mabengu.  I  had  ten  ulcers  on 
my  left  leg  and  foot  and  so  was  unable  to  look  for  food  myself  and  was 
kept  alive  entirely  by  my  two  boys  and  little  Baruk,  one  of  my  company, 
and  Abdalla,  a  jnan  Stairs  left  with  me.  I  was  very  weak  when  Je]3hsou  • 
arrived.  Now,  however,  I  feel  a  little  better.  We  arrived  at  the  village 
on  the  3rd  November,  the  chief  Ismail  brought  me  the  day  I  came  a  very 


250  IN  DAHKEST  AFRICA. 

1387       small  quantity  of  coarse  meal  and  two  small  dried  fisli,  abont  enough  for 
Oct.  26.    one  meal. 

Ipoto  "  Yesterday,  no  food  having  come  for  two  days,  we  sent  for  it,  and 

after  a  good  deal  of  trouble  Ismail  sent  us  a  little  meal.  At  present  I 
am  living  on  my  clothes ;  we  get  hardly  anything  from  the  Chief.  To- 
day Dr.  Parke  and  I  went  to  the  Chief,  with  Ham  is  Pari  as  interpreter, 
and  talked  to  him  about  food.  He  told  us  that  »'0  urrauficnient  had  been 
■made  hi/  you  for  my  food,  and  that  he  was  feeding  the  Doctor  and  me 
entirely  from  his  own  generosity,  and  he  refused  to  feed  our  boys,  three 
in  number  (fewer  we  cannot  possibly  do  with),  as  you  never  told  him  to 
do  so. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 
"&c.,  &c." 

"E.  H.  Nelson." 

"  Arab  Camp,  Ijioto, 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Stanley,  "  ^^^e'^^^c''  6</',  1887. 

"  Captain  Nelson  and  Mr.  Jephson  arrived  here  on  the  3rd  inst. 
a  few  of  the  Zanzibaris  and  Manyuema  men  getting  in  with  their  loads 
the  previous  day.  Of  all  those  men  left  at  Nelson's  camp,  only  five  have 
arrived  here,  the  remaining  live  ones  were  away  on  a  foraging  tour  with 
Llmari,  when  the  relief  party  arrived.  It  is  very  likely  that  some  of  them 
may  find  their  way  here ;  if  so,  I  shall  get  Ismaili  to  allow  them  to  work 
for  their  food.  Nelson  stagcere.l  into  camp  greatly  changed  in  appear- 
ance, a  complete  wreck  after  the  march,  his  features  shrunken  and 
pinched,  and  a  frame  reduced  to  half  its  former  size.  I  have  done  the 
best  I  could  for  him  medically,  but  good  nourishing  food  is  what  he 
requires  to  restore  him  to  his  heallh :  and  I  regret  to  say  that  my  expe- 
rience here  and  tlie  conversation  which  we  had  to-day  with  Ismaili  goes 
to  show  that  we  shall  have  to  exist  on  scanty  fare.  Since  yoxi  left,  I  have 
had  some  flour  and  corn  from  the  chiefs,  but  this  was  generally  after 
sending  for  it  several  times.  By  a  lucky  accident  I  got  a  goat,  most  of 
which  I  distributed  amongst  the  sick  men  here,  for  I  am  informed  by 
Ismaili,  through  H.  Pari,  that  only  those  who  work  in  the  field  get  food, 
and  tliere  are  some  here  who  certainly  cannot  do  so  ;  therefore  they  are 
trusting  to  the  generosity  of  the  other  men,  who  get  five  heads  of  corn 
each  day  they  work.  Both  Nelson  and  myself  have  much  trouble  in 
getting  food  from  Ismaili  for  ourselves,  and  he  has  refused  to  feed  our 
iioys,  who  are  altsolutcly  necessary  to  draw  water,  cook,  Ac,  &c.,  although 
I  liave  reduced  mine  to  one. 

"  Nelson  and  myself  went  and  saw  him  to  day  (Hamis  Pari,  interpreter), 
and  Ismaili  stated  that  you  had  told  the  chiefs  that  a  big  Mzungu  was  to 
c(jin(!  fNclson),  and  ho  would  make  his  own  arrangements  about  food^ 
and  that  I  was  hero  living  on  his  (Ismaili  s)  generosity,  as  no  arrange- 
ments had  been  made!  forme,  i  reminded  him  of  the  conversation  you 
hiid  with  him  in  your  lent  the  evening  you  called  me  down  and  gave  me 
your  gold  watch,  and  I  said  that  you  had  told  me  that  you  had  made  a 
writttJii  arrangement  with  th(!  chiefs  that  both  Nelson  and  myself  should 
be  jiroaialoiicd.  ^Vo  both  told  him  Ihat  Ave  di<l  not  want  goats  and  fowls, 
but  simj)ly  what  he  can  give  us.  Not  having  seen  any  agreement,  I  could 
not  argue  further,  but  asked  to  see  the  document,  so  that  wo  might 
convince  liim;  this  he  said  ho  could  not  do,  as  Ilamis,  the  Ch'ef,  had  it, 
and  he  was  away,  and  would  not  return  for  two  months,  lie  how(iver 
sent  us  u)»  some  corn  shortly  afterwards.  This  is  a  V(!ry  unhai)])y  state 
of  affairs  for  us  who  shall  have  to  rc^main  hero  for  so  long  a  time. 
Nelson  has  sold  mucli  of  his  clotlieH,  and  out  of  my  scanty  su])j)ly  (my 


BLOOD    BROTriERIIOOn    WITH    ISM  AIT  J.  2^)Z 

bag  having  been  lost  on  the  nuircli),  \   have   been    obliged    to   make   a       jhr?. 
further  sale  so  as  to  provide  ourselves  with  sufficient  food.  Oct.  16 

"  We  shall  get  along  here  as  best  we  can,  and  sacrifice  much  to  keep      j  ^^^^ 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  Arabs,  as  it  is  of  such  essential  importance.    T 
sincerely  hope  yon  will  have  every  success  in  attaining  the  object  of  the 
Expedition,  and  that  we  shall  all  have  an  opportunity  of  meeting  soon 
and  congratulating  Emin  Pasha  on  his  i-elief. 

"  With  best  wishes,  &c., 

(Signed)     "  T.  H.  Pahke, 
"  A.M.D. 

"  Arab  Village,  Ipoto, 
"  Deak  Sir  "  -^-^^^^  November,  1887. 

"  1  am  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you  that  several  attempts  have  been 
made  to  rob  the  hut,  and  last  night  unfortunately  they  managed  to  get  a 
box  of  ammunition  out  of  Parke's  tent  while  we  were  having  dinner ; 
also  one  attempt  to  burn  the  hut,  which  happ:ly  1  frustrated,  owing  to  my 
not  being  able  to  sleep  well.  We  have  spoken  to  the  Chief  Ismail  about 
the  thieving :  he  says  it  is  done  by  Zanzibaris  and  not  by  his  people ;  but 
if  there  were  no  sale  for  the  cartridges  they  would  not  be  stolen.  It  is  of 
course  most  unfortunate.  Since  Jephson  left,  the  enormous  quantity  of 
forty  small  heads  of  Indian  corn  has  been  given  to  us  by  Ismail;  this  is 
of  course  quite  absurd;  as  we  cannot  live  on  it,  we  get  herbs,  with 
which  we  supplement  our  scanty  fare. 

"  I'ledi  returned  this  afternoon  and  goes  on  to-morrow,  and  by  him  1 
send  this  letter. 

"  With  kindest  regards  to  you.  Sir,  Stairs  and  Jephson. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Ac,  &C., 

(Signed)    "  E.  H.  Nelson. 

P.S.— Just  as  I  finished  this  letter  the  Chief  sent  us  a  little  meal, 
which  evidently  was  done  so  that  Uledi  who  was  waiting  for  the  letter 
could  tell  you  that  we  were  getting  plenty  (! !)  of  food. 

"H.  M.  Stanley,  Esq., 

"  Commanding  E.  P.  E.  Expedition." 

On  the  evenino-  of  the  26th  Ismaili  entered  mv  hut, 
and  dechxred  that  he  had  become  so  attached  to  me  that 
he  would  dearly  love  to  go  through  the  process  of  blood- 
brotherhood  with  me.  As  I  was  about  to  entrust 
Captain  Nelson  and  Surgeon  Parke  and  about  thirty 
sick  men  to  the  charge  of  himself  and  l)rother  chiefs, 
I  readily  consented,  though  it  was  somewhat  infra  dig. 
to  make  brotherhood  with  a  slave,  but  as  he  was 
powerful  in  that  bloody  gang  of  bandits,  I  pocketed  my 
dignity  and  underwent  the  ceremony.  I  then  selected 
a  five-guinea  rug,  silk  handkerchiefs,  a  couple  of  yards  of 
crimson  broadcloth,  and  a  few  other  costly  trifles. 
Finally  I  made  another  written  agreement  for  guides  to 
accompany  me   to   the  distance  of  fifteen   camps,  which 


254 


IN  DJUKEST  AFRICA. 


J  887. 
Oct.  26. 

Ipoto. 


lie  said  was  the  limit  of  his  territory,  and  g<jod  treat- 
ment of  my  officers,  and  handed  to  him  a  gold  watch 
and  chain,  valne  £49  in  London,  as  pledge  of  this 
agreement,  in  presence  of  Surgeon  Parke. 

The  next  day  after  leaving  Surgeon  Parke  to  attend 
to  his  friend  Nelson  and  twenty-nine  men,  we  left  Ipoto 
with  our  reduced  force  to  strive  once  more  with  the 
hunger  of  the  wilderness. 


I 


CHAPTER  XL 

THROUGH  THE  FOREST  TO  MAZAMBONl's  PEAK. 

In  the  country  of  the  Balesse — Their  houses  and  cleariiip;s — Natives 
of  Bukiri  — The  first  villa2;o  of  dwarfs  —  Our  rate  of  progress 
increased — Tlio  road  from  Marabungu's — Halts  at  East  and  West 
Indekaru — A  little  storm  between  "  Three  O'clock  "  and  Khamis — 
We  reach  Ibwiri — Khamis  and  the  "  vile  Zanzibaris  " — The  Ibwiri 
clearing — Plentifid  provisions — The  state  of  my  men;  and  what 
they  had  recently  gone  through — Khamis  and  party  explore  the 
neighbourhood^ — And  return  with  a  flock  of  goats  —  Khamis 
captures  Boryo,  but  is  released— Jeplison  returns  from  the  relief 
of  Captain  Nelson — Departure  of  Khamis  and  the  Manyuema — 
Memorandum  of  charges  against  Messrs.  Kilonga  Longa  &  Co.  of 
Ipoto — Suicide  of  Simba — Sali's  reflections  on  the  same — Lieutenant 
Stairs  reconnoitres — Muster  and  re-organisation  at  Ibwiri — Im- 
proved condition  of  the  men — Boryo's  village — Balesse  customs — 
East  Indenduru — We  reach  tlie  outskirts  of  the  forest — Mount 
Pisgah— The  village  of  lyugu — Heaven's  light  at  last !  The  beautiful 
grass-land — We  drop  across  an  ancient  crone — Indesura  and  its 
products— Juma's  capture — The  Ituri  river  again— We  emerge  iipon 
a  rolling  plain — And  forage  in  some  villages — The  mode  of  hut 
construction — The  district  of  the  Babusesse — Our  Mbiri  captives — 
Natives  attack  the  camp— The  course  of  the  Ituri — The  natives  of 
Abunguma — Our  fare  since  leaving  Ibwiri — Mazamboni's  Peak^The 
east  Ituri — A  mass  of  plantations — Demonstration  by  the  natives — 
Our  camp  on  the  crest  of  K/era  Kum— "  Be  strong  and  of  a  good 
courage  " — Friendly  iiitercours-e  with  the  natives- — We  are  compelled 
to  disperse  them — Peace  arranged — Arms  of  the  Eandussuma. 

We  marclied  for  two  liours  to  Yumbu,  and  in  four  and      iggy. 
a  quarter  liours  on  the  following  day  to  Busindi.  ^^^-  28 

We  were  now  in  the  country  of  the  Balesse'.  The  archi- 
tecture was  peculiar.  Its  peculiarity  consisted  in  a  long 
street  flanked  by  a  long  low  wooden  building,  or  rather 
planked  building,  on  either  side,  200,  300,  or  400  feet 
long.  At  first  sight  one  of  these  villages  appeared  like 
a  long  gable-roofed  structure  sawn  in  exact  half  along 
the  ridge  of  the  roof,  and  as  if  each  half  house  had  been 
removed  backward  for  a  distance  of  20  or  30  feet,  and 


Yumbu. 


256 


L\    DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Oct.  -UK 

Busindi. 


then  along  the  inner  skies  been  Ijoaided  up,  and  pierced 
with  low  doors,  to  obtain  entrance  into  independent 
apartments.  The  lioht  wood  of  the  Eubiacae  affords  good 
material  for  this  kind  of  house.  A  sizeable  tree,  1  foot 
18  inches,  or  2  feet  in  diameter,  is  felled,  and  the  log  is 
cut  into  short  pieces  from  four  to  six  feet  in  length  ; 
the  pieces  are  easily  split  by  hard  wedges,  and  with 
their  small  neat  adzes  they  contrive  to  shape  the  plank 
smooth,  tolerably  even,  and  square.  They  are  generally 
an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick.  For  what  is 
called  the  ceiling  or  inner  boarding,  the  boards  are 
thinner    and   nari-owcr.      When   a   sufficient    number   of 


SHIELDS    OK     llll';    15AI,KSSE. 


hoai'ds  ;iii<l  planks  arc  ivady,  the  inner  ceiling  is  lashed 
t<j  the  ui)rights,  frequentl}-  in  as  neat  a  fashion  as  a 
carpenter's  aj)prentice  might  do  it  with  saw,  nails  and 
hanimci- :  on  llic  outer  side  of  tlic  upi'ights  are  lashed 
tlic  lliii-k<T  |»l;inks,  or  kroad  sk'ibs,  llic  hollow  between 
tiic  iniici'  ;ind  outer  li'anic  is  ihcn  slutl'ed  with  the 
plirynia,  or  I)anana  h'a\('s.  The  wall  facing  the  street 
may  be  1)  feel  liigli.  llic  b;i(k  \\;ill  lacing  llie  forest  or 
(tlearing  i^  1  or  1.',  feci  kigk,  (lie  widtli  of  tlio  house 
vai'ics  ti'oni  7  lo  in  jcct.  Alfogcllicr  it  is  a  comfortable 
.'ind  snnii  nxnlc  ol  liuililin<_;'.  i-atlicr  dangerous  in  case  of 
lir<'.  but    \v\\-  dcren.-iklc.  with  trillin-j;  labour. 


Busindi. 


TEE  COUNTRY   OF   THE  BALESSf^.  257 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Balesse  is  the  condition  of  i8S7. 
their  clearings,  and  some  of  these  are  very  extensive,  ^'^*;  ^^/ 
quite  a  mile  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  the  whole 
strewn  with  the  relics,  debris,  and  timber  of  the  primeval 
forest.  Indeed  I  cannot  compare  a  Balesse  clearing  to 
anything  better  than  a  mighty  abattis  surrounding  the 
principal  village,  and  over  this  abattis  the  traveller  has 
to  find  his  way.  As  one  steps  out  of  the  shadow  of  the 
forest,  the  path  is  at  first,  may  be,  along  the  trunk  of  a 
great  tree  for  100  feet,  it  then  turns  at  right  angles 
along  a  great  branch  a  few  feet ;  he  takes  a  few  paces 
on  the  soil,  then  finds  himself  in  front  of  a  massive 
prostrate  tree-stem  3  feet  in  diameter  or  so ;  he  climbs 
over  that,  and  presently  finds  himself  facing  the  out- 
spreading limbs  of  another  giant,  amongst  which  he 
must  creep,  and  twist,  and  crawl  to  get  footing  on 
a  branch,  then  from  the  branch  to  the  trunk,  he  takes 
a  half  turn  to  the  right,  walks  along  the  tree  from  which, 
increasing  in  thickness,  he  must  soon  climb  on  top  oi 
another  that  has  fallen  across  and  atop  of  it,  when  after 
taking  a  half-turn  to  the  left,  he  must  follow,  ascend- 
ing it  until  he  is  20  feet  above  the  ground.  When 
he  has  got  among  the  branches  at  this  dizzy  height, 
he  needs  judgment,  and  to  be  proof  against  nervous- 
ness. After  tender,  delicate  balancing,  he  places  his 
foot  on  a  branch — at  last  descends  cautiously  along 
the  steep  slope  until  he  is  6  feet  from  the  ground 
from  which  he  must  jump  on  to  another  tapering 
branch,  and  follow  that  to  another  height  of  20  feet, 
then  along  the  monster  tree,  then  down  to  the  ground  ; 
and  so  on  for  hours,  the  hot,  burning  sun,  and  the  close, 
steamy  atmosphere  of  the  clearing  forcing  the  perspira- 
tion in  streams  from  his  body.  I  have  narrowly  escaped 
death  three  times  during  these  frightful  gymnastic 
exercises.  One  man  died  where  he  fell.  Several  men  were 
frightfully  bruised.  Yet  it  is  not  so  dangerous  with  the 
naked  feet,  but  with  boots  in  the  early  morning,  before 
the  dew  is  dried,  or  after  a  rain,  or  when  the  advance- 
guard  has  smeared  the  timber  with  a  greasy  clay,  I 
have  had  six  falls  in  an  hour.     The  village  stands  in  the 

VOL.  I.  R 


258  IN  DAE  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  centre.  We  have  often  congratulated  ourselves  on  coming 
Oct.  29.  ^Q  ^  clearing  at  the  near  approach  to  camping- time,  but  it 
has  frequently  occupied  us  one  hour  and  a  half  to  reach 
the  village.  It  is  a  most  curious  sight  to  see  a  caravan 
laden  with  heavy  burdens  walking  over  this  wreck  of  a 
forest,  and  timbered  clearing.  Streams,  swamps,  water- 
courses, ditches  are  often  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet 
below  a  tapering  slippery  tree,  which  crosses  them 
.  bridge-like.  Some  men  are  falling,  some  are  tottering, 
one  or  two  have  already  fallen,  some  are  twenty  feet 
above  the  ground,  others  are  on  the  ground  creeping 
under  logs.  Many  are  wandering  among  a  maze  of 
branches,  thirty  or  more  may  be  standing  on  one  delicate 
and  straight  shaft,  a  few  may  be  posted  like  sentries  on 
a  branch,  perplexed  which  way  to  move.  All  this, 
how^ever,  is  made  much  harder,  and  more  dangerous, 
when,  from  a  hundred  points,  the  deadly  arrows  are 
flying  from  concealed  natives,  which,  thank  Heaven, 
were  not  common.  We  have  been  too  cautious  for  that 
kind  of  work  to  happen  often,  though  we  have  seldom 
been  able  to  leave  one  of  these  awful  clearings  without 
liaving  some  man's  foot  skewered,  or  some  one  lamed. 

On  the  29  th  we  marched  to  Bukiri  or  Myyulus,  a 
distance  of  nine  miles  in  six  hours. 

A  few  natives  having  been  tormented  and  persecuted 
to  submission  to  the  Manyuema,  greeted  us  with  cries 
of  "  Bodo  1  Bodo  !  Ulenda  !  Ulenda  !  "  ;  greetings  which 
tliey  accompanied  with  a  flinging  motion  of  the  hand, 
as  tliougli  they  jerked  "  Away  !  away  !  " 

The  chief  was  styled  Mwa.ni.  They  Avorc  much 
polislic<l  ironwoi'k,  i-ings,  bells,  and  anklets,  and  appeared 
to  })e  partial  t<»  many  leglets  made  of  calamus  fibre,  and 
armlets  of  llic  s.iinc  material,  after  the  manner  of 
Karagwc  aii<l  illilia.  They  cultivate  maize,  beans, 
])Iantains,  ;iiid  bananas,  to])acco,  sweet  potatoes,  yams, 
biinjall.s,  melons,  gourds.  Their  goats  are  fine,  and  of 
g«)od  size,      j^'owls  are  ])l(;ntiful,  but  fresh  eggs  are  rare. 

Among  some  of  llicse  villages  there  is  generally  a 
dome  liut  of  ample  size,  after  the  manner  of  Unyoro. 
witli  dou})le  porches. 


Busindi 


THE  FIB  ST    VILLAGE   OF  DWARFS.  261 

The  following  day  we  halted,  during  which  the  Man-  iss?. 
yuema  guides  took  particular  care  to  show  our  people  ^''^-  ^^• 
that  they  should  have  no  doubt  of  their  contempt  for 
them.  They  would  not  allow  them  to  trade  with  the 
natives  for  fear  some  desirable  article  would  be  lost  to 
themselves,  they  also  vociferated  at  them  loudly  if  they 
were  seen  proceeding  to  the  clearing  to  cut  plantains. 
As  I  told  them,  they  did  not  advance  in  their  favour  in 
the  least  by  abandoning  the  wdiites,  and  turning  a  deaf 
ear  to  our  adjurations  to  be  manly  and  faithful,  A 
word,  or  even  a  defiant  look,  was  visited  with  a  sharp 
cut  on  the  naked  body  with  a  rattan  from  slave  boys  of 
the  six  Manyuema  guides  with  us.  What  awful  oaths  of 
vengeance  were  uttered  for  all  these  indignities  they 
suffered ! 

On  the  3 1st  we  came  across  the  first  village  of  Dwarfs, 
and,  during  the  day,  across  several  empty  settlements 
belono-inor  to  them.  We  marched  nine  miles  in  five  and 
a  quarter  hours,  and  camped  in  a  dwarfs  village  in  the 
woods. 

Stealing  continued  steadily.  On  examining  the 
pouches,  there  was  one  cartridge  out  of  three  pouches 
The  cartridges  were  lost,  of  course  !  Hilallah,  a  boy  of 
sixteen,  deserted  back  to  Ipoto  with  my  cartridge  pouch, 
and  thirty  cartridges  in  it.  A  man  who  carried  my 
satchel  ran  away  with  seventy-five  Winchester  car- 
tridges. 

The  next  day  we  entered  the  extensive  clearing  and 
large  settlement  of  Mambungu's  or  Nebasse. 

Khamis,  the  chief  of  the  guides,  left  Ipoto  on 
the  31st,  and  arrived  at  this  place  with  seven  men, 
according  to  agreement  with  Ismaili,  my  Manyuema 
brother. 

The  track  which  we  followed  has  enabled  us  to 
increase  our  rate  of  progress  per  hour.  Along  the  river 
bank,  by  dint  of  continued  work,  and  devoting  seven, 
eight,  nine  hours— sometimes  ten  hours — we  could 
travel  from  3  to  7  miles.  We  were  now  enabled  to 
make  H  to  1|,  and  even  2  miles  per  hour;  but  the 
pace   was   still   retarded    by    roots,    stumps,    climbers. 


262  tN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.     Uianes,     convolvuli,     skewers,     and     a     multitude     of 
Nov.  1.    gt;reams,   and   green-scummed  sinks.      AVe  could  rarely 
^^Txi's.  proceed  a  clear  hundred  yards  without  being  ordered 
to  halt  by  the  pioneers. 

Each  day  towards  evening  the  clouds  gathered,  the 
thunder  reverberated  with  awful  sounds  through  the 
echoing;  forest :  lio;htnino^  darted  hither  and  thither, 
daily  severing  some  tree-top,  or  sjDlittnig  a  mighty 
patriarch  from  crown  to  base,  or  blasting  some  stately 
and  kingly  tree  ;  and  the  rain  fell  with  a  drowning 
plenty  which  chilled  and  depressed  us  greatly  in  our 
poor  blooded  and  anaemic  state.  But  during  the  march, 
Providence  was  gracious  ;  the  sun  shone,  and  streamed 
in  million  beams  of  soft  light  through  the  w^oods,  which 
brightened  our  feelings,  and  caused  the  aisles  and 
corridors  of  the  woods  to  be  of  Divine  beauty,  converted 
the  graceful  thin  tree-shafts  into  marbly-grey  pillars, 
and  the  dew  and  rain-dro|)s  into  sparkling  brilliants  ; 
cheered  the  invisible  birds  to  pour  out,  with  spirit,  their 
varied  rcpertor}^  of  songs  ;  inspired  parrot  flocks  to  vent 
gleeful  screams  and  whistlings ;  roused  hosts  of 
monkeys  to  exert  their  wildest  antics  ;  while  now  and 
then  some  deep,  bass  roar  in  far-away  recesses  indicated 
a  family  of  soko  or  chimpanzees  enjoying  some  savage 
sport. 

The  road  from  Mambungu's,  eastward,  was  full  of  tor- 
ments, fears,  and  anxieties.  Never  were  such  a  series  of 
clearings  as  those  around  Mambungu,  and  the  neighboiur- 
ing  settlement  of  Njalis.  The  trees  were  of  the  largest 
size,  and  timber  enougli  had  been  cut  to  build  a  navy  ; 
and  these  lay,  in  all  iniaginalJe  confusion,  tree  upon  tree, 
logaboNc  li  >'_;;.  l)i';inches  rising  in  hills  above  lulls  ;  and 
amongst  all  iliiswild  ruin  of  woods  grew  in  jirofusion 
upon  profusion  l)aiianas,  plantains,  vines,  j^'^i'^^itcs  ; 
ivy-like  plants,  palms,  calainiis,  convolvuli,  etc.,  through 
which  the  yonv  colnnin  had  to  Imrrow,  struggle,  and 
sweat,  \vhil(\  ci'ccping,  ci-awling,  and  climbing,  in, 
through,  an<l  nyv.n  ol^sLacles  and  cntaiiglements  that 
l)afH(j  (h'scri|»t  loll. 

On    the     nil    November    wc    were    I04    miles     from 


MORNim  IS  BIlEAKim.  263 

Mambungu's  in  the  settlement   of  Ndugubislui,  having      i887. 
passed,  in    tlic   interval,   through    five    deserted   forest    ^''^'•*- 
villages  of  pigmies.     On  this  day  I  came  near  smiling —     tiE* 
for  I  fancied  1  observed  the  dawn  of  happier  days  fore- 
told by  Uledi.     Each  member  of  the  caravan  received 
one  ear  of  corn,  and  15  plantains  as  rations. 

Fifteen  plantains  and  one  ear  of  corn  make  a  royal 
ration  compared  to  two  ears  of  corn,  or  a  handful  of 
berries,  or  a  dozen  fungus.  It  was  not  calculated,  how- 
ever, to  make  men  too  cheerful,  though  our  people  were 
naturally  light-hearted  and  gay. 

"  But  never  mind,  my  boys,"  I  said,  as  I  doled  the 
spare  diet  to  the  hungry  creatures  ;  "  the  morning  is 
breaking  ;  a  week  more,  and  then  you  shall  see  the  end 
of  your  troubles." 

Verbal  reply  was  not  given  to  me  ;  only  a  wan  smile 
lightened  the  famine-sharpened  features.  Our  officers 
had  borne  these  privations  with  the  spirit  ascribed  by 
Caesar  to  Antony,  and  as  well  as  though  they  were  to 
the  manner  born.  They  fed  on  the  flat  wood  beans  of  the 
forest,  on  the  acid  w^ild  fruit  and  strange  fungus,  with  the 
smiling  content  of  Sybarites  at  a  feast.  Yet  one  of  them 
paid  £1,000  for  this  poor  privilege,  and  came  near  being- 
thought  too  dainty  for  rough  African  life.  They  had 
been  a  living  example  to  our  dark  followers,  many  of 
whom  had  probably  been  encouraged  to  strive  for 
existence  by  the  bright,  hopeful  looks  our  officers  wore 
under  our  many  unhappy  afflictions. 

On  the  following  day  we  crossed  the  watershed 
between  the  Ihuru  and  Ituri  rivers,  and  we  now 
plunged  into  cool  streams  flowing  to  leftward,  or  towards 
the  Ihuru.  Hills  rose  to  the  right  and  left  in  wooded 
cones  and  ridgy  mounts,  and  after  a  march  of  nine  and 
three-quarter  miles,  we  halted  for  the  night  at  West 
Indekaru,  at  the  base  of  a  hill  whose  top  rose  600  feet 
above  the  villafye.  Another  short  march  brought  us  to 
a  village  perched  half-way  up  a  tall  mount,  which  may 
be  designated  as  East  Indekaru,  and  by  aneroid  we  were 
4,097  feet  above  the  ocean.  From  this  village  we 
enjoyed  a  first  view  of  our  surroundings.     Instead  of 


264  tN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  crawling  like  mighty  bipeds  in  the  twilight,  30  fathoms 
^°''-  ^-  below  the  level  of  the  white  light  of  the  day,  compelled 
to  recognize  our  littleness,  by  comparison  with  the  giant 
columns  and  tall  pillar-like  shafts  that  rose  by  millions 
around  us,  we  now  stood  on  the  crest  of  a  cleared  mount, 
to  look  upon  the  leafy  world  below  us.  One  almost 
felt  as  if  walking  over  the  rolling  plain  of  leafage  was 
possible,  so  compact  and  unbroken  was  the  expanse, 
extending  to  a  lovely  pale  blueness  as  the  eyesight 
followed  it  to  the,  furthest  limits  of  distinctness — away, 
far  away  to  an  unknown  distance  the  forest  tops  spread 
round  about  a  variegated  green  of  plushy  texture,  broad 
red  patches  of  tree  flowering,  and  rich  russety  circles  of 
leaves,  not  unfrequent.  How  one  envied  the  smooth, 
easy  flight  of  the  kites  and  white-collared  eagles,  sailing 
gracefully  without  let  or  hindrance  through  the  calm 
atmosphere  !  Ah  !  that  w^e  had  the  wings  of  kites,  that 
we  might  fly  and  be  at  rest  from  these  incorrigibly 
wicked  Manyuema  !  Whose  wish  was  that  ?  Indeed,  I 
think  we  all  of  us  shared  it,  more  or  less. 

On  the  7th,  while  we  halted  on  the  mount,  the 
Manyuema  monopolizing  the  village,  and  our  men  in  the 
bush,  unworthy  to  be  near  their  nobility,  there  was  a 
little  storm  between  Saat  Tato  (Three  o'clock),  the 
hunter,  and  Khamis,  the  chief  of  the  Manyuema  guides. 
It  threatened,  from  the  sound  of  words,  to  explode  hurt- 
fully  at  one  time.  Khamis  slapped  him  in  the  face. 
B(jth  were  tall  men,  but  Saat  Tato  was  two  inches  taller, 
a  good  soldier,  wlio  liad  seen  service  in  Madagascar  and 
with  Sultan  P)ai'g]ias]i  as  a  sergeant,  1)ut  who,  from  his 
habits  of  getting  drunk  ])y  the  third  liour  of  cat;h  day, 
was  nicknamed  "  Three  o'clock,"  and  dismissed.  He  was 
an  excellent  inaii,  faithful,  strong,  obedient,  and  an 
unerring  shot.  ( «i\-cn  llie  benefits  of  twenty-five  pounds 
of  food,  Saat  Tato,  at  a  Iiiiii,  wonld  have  smilingly  taken 
liold  of  Khamis,  and  snapped  jiis  vertebi'te  across  his 
knee  with  the  ease  that  lie  would  have  bi'oken  a  spear 
staff.  I  observed  Saat  Tato  closely,  for  it  must  be 
rcnicmlx'icd  that  it  had  beconu^  fullv  inij)ressed  on  my 
mind  that  my  men  were  <|uite  too  broken-spirited.     Saat 


Indtkaru. 


8AAT  TATO  AND  KITAMTS.  265 

Tato  looked  at  him  a  second  severely  ;  then,  lifting  his      i887. 
forefinger,  said  to  Khamis,  "  It  is  well,  but  I  should  like  ^^_"J-  '^• 
to  see  you  repeat  that  blow  a  little  time  hence,  after  I 
have  a  little  food  in  me,  and  filled  this  stomach  of  mine. 
Strike  me  again,  do  ;  I  can  bear  it." 

Advancing,  and  touching  Khamis  on  the  shoulder,  I 
said,  "  Khamis,  do  not  do  that  again.  I  do  not  allow 
even  my  ofiicers  to  strike  my  men  like  that." 

The  ill-humour  was  increasing,  and,  little  as  the 
Manyuema  imagined,  they  were  assisting  me  to  restore 
the  spirit  of  the  Zanzibaris  by  their  cruelty.  There 
were  signs  that  the  Christians  would  prevail  after  all. 
The  mutual  afiection  expressed  between  the  Moslem  co- 
religionists at  the  altar  of  which  our  men  were  ready  to 
sacrifice  our  lives  and  liberties  and  their  own  freedom, 
had  been  cooled  by  the  cruelty,  perverseness,  and 
niggardliness  of  the  Manyuema.  All  we  had  to  do  was 
to  watch  it,  bear  patiently,  and  be  ready. 

To  our  great  comfort  Khamis  confessed  that  West 
Indekaru  was  the  utmost  limit  of  his  master  Ismaili's 
territory. 

We,  however,  were  not  to  part  from  him  until  we 
reached  Ibwiri. 

We  marched  eleven  miles  on  the  8th  of  November 
through  a  much  more  open  forest,  and  we  could  see  further 
into  the  interior.  The  road  was  better,  so  much  so  that 
our  rate  of  marching  increased  to  two  miles  per  hour. 
The  gritty  and  loamy  soil  had  absorbed  the  rain,  and 
walking  became  pleasant.  The  llianes  were  not  so 
riotously  abundant,  only  a  strong  creeper  now  and  then 
requiring  severance.  At  several  places  there  were 
granite  outcroppings  of  a  colossal  size,  which  were  a 
novelty  and  added  a  kind  of  romantic  and  picturesque 
interest  to  the  woods,  darkly  suggestive  of  gitanos, 
bandits,  or  pigmies. 

A  march  of  nine  and  a  half  miles  on  the  9th  of 
November  took  us  to  a  Pigmies'  camp.  Until  noon  a 
mist  had  hung  over  the  land.  Towards  the  latter 
part  of  the  tramp  we  passed  through  several  lately 
deserted  villages  of  the  dwarfs,  and  across  eight  streams. 


266  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  Khamis,  the  ouide,  and  his  followers,  and  about  half- 
"  °^-  •  a-dozen  of  the  pioneers  proceeded  to  Ibwiri,  which  was 
only  one  and  a  half  mile  distant,  and  on  the  next  day 
we  joined  them.  This  was  one  of  the  richest  and  finest 
clearings  we  had  seen  since  leaving  Yambuya,  though 
had  the  Expedition  been  despatched  eight  months  earlier, 
we  should  have  found  scores  in  the  same  prosperous 
condition.  Here  was  a  clearins:  three  miles  in  diameter 
abounding  in  native  produce,  and  hitherto  unvisited  by 
the  Manyuema.  Almost  every  plantain  stalk  bore  an 
enormous  branch  of  fruit,  with  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  forty  plantains  attached.  Some  specimens  of  this 
fruit  were  twenty-two  inches  long,  two  and  a  half  inches 
in  diameter,  and  nearly  eight  inches  round,  large  enough 
to  furnish  Saat  Tato  the  hunter,  with  his  long  desired 
full  meal.  There  was  an  odour  of  ripe  fruit  pervading 
the  air,  and  as  we  climbed  over  the  logs  and  felt  our 
way  gingerly  along  the  prostrate  timber,  I  was  often 
asked  by  the  delighted  people  to  note  the  bunches  of 
mellow  fruit  hanging  temptingly  before  their  eyes. 

Before  reaching  the  village  Murabo,  a  Zanzibari  head- 
man, whispered  to  me  that  there  were  five  villages  in 
Ibwiri,  and  that  each  hut  in  every  village  was  more  than 
a  fourth  full  of  Indian  corn,  but  that  Khamis  and  his 
Manyuema  had  been  storing  corn  in  their  own  huts, 
which,  according  to  right  of  preemption,  they  had 
reserved  for  themselves. 

On  entering  the  street  of  the  village,  Khamis  met  me 
with  the  usual  complaints  al)<)ut  the  wickedness  of  the 
"  vile  Zanzibaris."  [iOoking  down  on  the  ground  I  saw 
many  a  trail  of  coin  which  went  to  corrol)orate  Murabo's 
story,  and  as  Khamis  proposed  that  the  Expedition  should 
occupy  the  western  liulf  of  the  village,  and  he  and  his 
fifteen  Manyuema  would  occupy  the  eastern  half,  I 
N'cnhircil  lo  <lcniMr  in  the  pi'oposition  on  the  ground 
iJiat  as  \vc  had  •  h-pailcd  <>iit  of  his  master's  territory  we 
claimed  all  the  lainl  In  I  he  eastward,  and  would  in 
Jul  lire  dispense  wilh  any  suggestion  as  to  what  we 
sli()iil<l  do,  and  llial  j'lirt  hei'inoi'e  not  a  grain  of  coi'n, 
nor  plantain,  banana,  or  any  other  native  jH'oduct  in  the 


Ibwi 


KHAMIS  AND    THE  ZANZJBABTS.  267 

land  would  leave  the  country  without  my  permission.      i887. 
He  was  told,  no  people  on  earth   could  have  borne  so    n*'^-  ^^• 
uncomplainingly  such  shames,  affronts,  and  insults  as  had 
been  put  upon  the  Zanzibaris,  and  that  in  future  they 
should  be  permitted  to  resent  all  such  injuries  as  they  best 
knew  how.     Khamis  assented  submissively  to  all  this. 

The  first  thing  after  storing  goods,  and  distributing 
the  men  to  their  quarters,  was  to  give  fifty  ears  of  corn 
per  man,  and  to  arrange  with  the  natives  as  to  our  future 
conduct  towards  one  another. 

Within  an  liour  it  was  agreed  that  the  western  half  of 
the  Ibwiri  clearing  should  be  granted  to  us  for  foraging ; 
that  the  eastern  half,  from  a  certain  stream,  should  be 
the  reserve  of  the  natives.  Khamis,  the  Manyuema,  was 
also  induced  to  enter  into  the  pact.  In  return  for  a 
packet  of  brass  rods,  Boryo,  the  principal  chief  of  the 
Balessc  of  the  district,  presented  us  with  five  fowls  and 
a  goat. 

This  was  a  great  day.  Since  August  31st  not  one 
follower  of  the  Expedition  had  enjoyed  a  full  meal,  but 
now  bananas,  plantains  ripe  and  green,  potatoes,  herbs, 
yams,  beans,  sugar-cane,  corn,  melons  in  such  quantities 
were  given  them  that  were  they  so  many  elephants  they 
could  not  have  exhausted  the  stock  provided  for  them  in 
less  than  ten  days.  They  could  gratify  to  the  full  the 
appetite  so  long  stinted  and  starved. 

As  we  were  compelled  to  wait  for  Mr.  Jephson  and  some 
sixty  Zanzibaris — forty  of  the  relief  party,  boat's  crew, 
and  convalescents  from  Ipoto — the  good  effect  of  this 
abundance  would  be  visible  in  a  few  days.  It  was  also 
one  of  those  settlements  we  had  been  anxiously  searching 
for  as  a  recuperating  station.  On  this  date  the  men 
were  hideous  to  look  upon,  because  of  their  gaunt  naked- 
ness. They  were  naked,  for  they  had  stripped  them- 
selves to  obtain  food  from  the  slaves  of  the  Manyuema  at 
Ugarrowwa's  and  Ipoto  ;  of  flesh  they  had  none,  for  they 
had  been  reduced  to  bones  by  seventy-three  days  of 
famine  and  thirteen  days  of  absolute  want  ;  of  strength 
they  had  but  little,  and  they  were  ill-favoured  in  every 
respect ;  their   native   colour    of  oiled  bronze  had  be- 


268  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  come  a  mixture  of  grimy  black  and  wood  ashes ;  their 
Nov.  10.  j.Qiii^g  QjQQ  betrayed  signs  of  disease,  impure  blood,  and 
indurated  livers ;  that  beautiful  contour  of  body,  and 
graceful  and  delicate  outlines  of  muscles — alas,  alas  ! — 
were  all  gone.  They  more  befitted  a  charnel-house 
than  a  camp  of  men  bound  to  continually  wear  fighting 
accoutrements. 

Khamis,  the  Manyuema  guide,  offered  the  next  morning 
to  proceed  east  to  search  out  the  road  from  Ibwiri,  for, 
as  he  informed  me,  Boryo,  the  chief,  had  told  him  of  a 
grass-land  being  not  many  days  off".  He  thought  that 
wdth  a  few  of  Boryo's  natives,  and  thirty  of  our  riflemen, 
he  could  discover  something  of  interest.  Calling  Boryo 
to  me,  he  confirmed,  as  well  as  we  could  understand  him, 
that  from  a  place  called  Mande,  which  he  said  was  only 
two  days'  good  marching — say  forty  miles — the  grass- 
land could  be  seen  ;  that  herds  of  cattle  came  in  such 
numbers  to  the  Ituri  river  to  drink  that  the  river 
"  swelled  up."  All  this  chimed  with  my  eager  desire  to 
know  how  far  we  were  from  the  open  country,  and  as 
Boryo  said  he  was  willing  to  furnish  guides,  I  called  for 
volunteers.  Twenty-eight  men  came  forward,  to  my 
surprise,  as  willing  and  as  eager  for  new  adventures  as 
though  they  had  been  revelling  in  plenty  for  the  last  few 
months.      Khamis  and  his  party  departed  shortly  after. 

Despite  strict  prohibition  to  touch  anything  on  the 
native  reservation  of  Ibwiri,  one  of  our  raiders  paid  it  a 
visit,  and  captured  nineteen  fowls,  two  of  which  he  had 
already  despatched,  the  remaining  seventeen  he  had 
decapitated,  but  our  detectives  pounced  upon  him  and 
his  stock,  as  he  and  his  chum  were  debating  what  they 
should  do  with  the  feathers.  The  flesh  and  bones  did 
not  promise  to  be  any  trouble  to  them.  Close  by  them 
two  men  had  despatched  an  entire  goat,  excepting  the 
head  I  These  facts  serve  to  illustrate  the  boundless 
(•a[)acity  of  Zanzi})ai'i  stomachs. 

I'lie  nativ(!s  of  Ibwiri  had  behaved  most  handsomely, 
and  personally  I  f(;lt  a  sense  of  shame  at  the  ingratitude 
of  my  followers.  The  <|i!cr  and  his  family  were  living 
vvitli  us,  and  cxchaiigcd   lluiir  greetings  of  "  Bodo,  Bodo, 


Ibwiri, 


THE  NATIVES    OF  IBWIRI.  269 

ulenda,  uleiida,"  half-a-dozen  times  a  day.  Yet  our  men  1887. 
liad  undergone  such  extremes  of  wretchedness  during  ^"'''  ^^■ 
the  last  two  and  a  half  months  tliat  we  might  have  well 
anticipated  some  excesses  would  be  committed  upon  the 
first  opportunity.  No  other  body  of  men  in  the  wide 
world  that  I  am  acquainted  with  could  have  borne  such 
a  period  of  hunger  so  meekly,  so  resignedly.  Not  a 
grain  or  a  bit  of  human  food  discoverable  anywhere, 
their  comrades  dying  at  every  camp,  or  falling  dead 
along  the  track,  others  less  patient  plunging  into  the 
depths  of  the  wilderness  maddened  by  hunger,  leaving 
them  to  fare  as  they  might  under  the  burdens  of  war- 
munitions,  and  baggage.  Goaded  by  the  protracted 
hunger,  and  fierce  despair,  and  loss  of  trust  in  their 
officers,  they  might  have  seized  their  Remingtons  and, 
by  one  volley,  have  slain  their  white  chiefs,  and  fed  on 
them,  and  shaken  ojff  power,  and,  in  a  moment,  the  clutch 
of  authority  which,  so  far  as  they  knew,  was  only  drag- 
ging them  down  to  certain  doom. 

While  I  pitied  the  natives  who  had  lost  their  property 
when  they  least  deserved  it,  I  could  not  remove  from  my 
memory  that  extended  fast  in  the  area  of  desolation  and 
forest  wilderness  stretching  l)etween  the  Basopo  Rapids 
and  Ibwiri,  on  the  edge  of  which  we  were  even  now 
located,  or  their  patient  obedience — thefts  and  small 
practices  notwithstanding,  their  unfaltering  fidelity, 
their  kindness  to  us  while  we  were  starving,  in  be- 
stowing upon  us  the  choicest  and  finest  of  the  wild 
fruit  they  had  discovered,  and  their  altogether  courageous 
bearing  and  noble  hopefulness  during  the  terrible  days 
of  adversity  ;  all  these  virtues  must  needs  extenuate 
their  offences,  and  it  was  best  to  await  fulness  and  refiec- 
tion  to  assist  us  in  reclaiming  them  into  tractableness  and 
good  order.  Every  mile  or  two  almost  of  that  hungry 
forest  solitude  between  the  Ihuru  and  Ituri  confiuence 
and  Ipoto  had  been  marked  by  the  dead  bodies  of  their 
comrades ;  there  they  lay  fast  mildewing  and  rotting  in 
the  silent  gloom,  and,  but  for  the  fidelity  of  the  survivors, 
none  of  those  capable  of  giving  intelligent  testimony  of 
the  stern  trials  endured  during  September,  October,  and 


Ibwiri. 


270  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  the  half  of  November,  would  have  lived  to  relate  the  sad 
^r'^^'  and  sorrowful  details. 

The  more  experience  and  insight  I  obtain  into  human 
nature,  the  more  convinced  do  I  become  that  the  greater 
portion  of  a  man  is  purely  animal.  Fully  and  regularly 
fed,  he  is  a  being  capable  of  being  coaxed  or  coerced  to 
exertion  of  any  kind,  love  and  fear  sway  him  easily,  he 
is  not  averse  to  labour  however  severe  ;  but  when  starved 
it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  motto  "  Cave  Canem,"  for 
a  starvingr  lion  over  a  raw  morsel  of  beef  is  not  so 
ferocious  or  so  ready  to  take  offence.  Kigid  discipline, 
daily  burdens,  and  endless  marching  into  regions  of 
which  they  were  perfectly  ignorant,  never  seemed  to  gall 
our  men  much  when  their  stomachs  w^ere  pampered,  and 
abundant  provender  for  their  digestive  organs  were 
provided ;  but  even  hanging  unto  death  was  only  a 
temporary  damper  to  their  inclination  to  excessive  mis- 
chief when  pinched  with  hunger.  The  aborigines  also  of 
Ibwiri  surrounded  by  plenty  are  mild  and  meek  enough 
through  pure  sleekness,  but  the  dwarfish  nomads  of  the 
forest  are,  I  am  told,  as  fierce  as  beasts  of  prey,  and 
fight  till  their  cpiivers  are  empty. 

I  received  word  on  the  i2th  that  Khamis,  the 
]\Ianyu(!ina  who  was  supposed  to  have  gone  for  my 
gratification  to  explore  the  country  ahead,  and  to  make 
friends  witli  tlic  aid  of  tlie  natives,  had,  owing  to 
per^'erscness,  been  unable  to  accomplish  his  mission  ; 
that  he  was  greatly  disappointed,  and  that  he  had  been 
attack(Ml  liy  tin;  natives  of  East  Il)wiii  and  had  lost  two 
men.     I  sent   word  to  ]iim  to  return. 

The  llcas  of  Iliwiii  iH'canie  so  intoleraMc  that  in  order 
to  o})tain  I'est,  I  lia«l  lo  set  my  tent  iu  tlie  open  street. 

On  the.  I  .'{til  ol"  NoNcnilH'r,  wliile  taking  an  inspection 
of  the  \illagc  caiiij),  and  ('xainiiiiiig  into  the  condition  of 
till'  iiii'ii.  I  was  aiiia/cd  at  the.  l»usy  scene  of  eating  I 
belield.  Almost  e\M',ry  man  was  engaged  in  j)oun(ling 
corn,  reducing  di'ied  bananas  into  Hour,  or  grinding 
nioiii  lifnls  of  IoihI  wiili  (licii-  fine  teeth,  making  amends 
for  i\\K  conipiilsoiy  fast  of  Scplcndx'i",  October  and 
November. 


KHAMIS  AND    CHIEF  BOB  TO.  271 

Khamis  returned  on  the  14tli  with  a  huge  tiock  of  i887. 
goats  obtained  from  somewhere.  He  was  gracious  ^"'-  ^'*' 
enough  to  allow  us  sixteen  head.  This  inclined  us  to  ^^"'"" 
suspect  that  the  real  object  of  his  design  was  not  to 
explore  but  to  extend  the  conquests  of  his  master,  Ismaili, 
farther  east  through  our  assistance,  and  to  reduce  the 
natives  of  Ibwiri  into  the  same  state  of  poverty  as  the 
neighbourhood  of  Ipoto,  for  instance.  But  though 
Khamis  possessed  force  sufficient  to  have  accomplished 
even  this  last,  the  silly  fellow's  greed  caused  him  to 
behave  with  such  reckless  disregard  of  the  poisoned 
shafts  of  the  natives  that  he  lost  three  of  his  men.  It 
seems  that  as  soon  as  a  flock  of  goats  was  sighted, 
Khamis  forgot  his  design  to  explore,  urged  his  Manyuema 
to  their  capture,  and  retained  our  people  by  him.  Our 
men  by  these  tactics  returned  uninjured  without  having 
been  engaged  in  this  disgraceful  action.  Then,  as 
Khamis  w^as  returning  to  our  village,  mourning  the  loss 
of  three  of  his  most  active  comrades,  he  suddenly  met 
Boryo,  the  Chief  of  East  Ibwiri,  and  without  a  word 
made  him  a  prisoner.  Before  reporting  to  me,  Khamis, 
on  arrival,  ordered  his  men  to  strangle  the  chief  in 
revenge  for  the  death  of  his  men.  Happening  to  hear 
of  it,  I  sent  a  guard  to  take  him  by  force  out  of  Khamis' 
hands,  and  placed  him  in  a  hut  out  of  harm's  way,  and 
bade  Boryo  rest  quiet  until  Khamis  had  departed. 

We  luxuriated  during  our  days  of  rest.  There  had 
been  discovered  such  an  abundance  of  food  that  we 
might  safely  have  rested  six  months  without  fear  of 
starving.  We  enjoyed  ripe  plantains  made  into  pudding>5 
with  goats'  milk ;  fritters,  patties  and  bread,  sweet 
potatoes,  manioc,  yams,  herbs,  fowls  and  goat  meat 
without  stint.  On  the  evening  of  this  day  the  metiii, 
for  dinner  was — 

Kid  soup. 

Eoast  leg  of  kid,  and  baked  sweet  potatoes. 

Boiled  sweet  manioc. 

Fried  bananas. 

Sweet  cake  of  ripe  plantain. 

Plantain  fritters. 

Goats'  milk. 


272  IN  DARKEST  AFBICA. 

1887.         Already  I  noted  a  change  in  the  appearance  of  our- 

Nov.  14.   ggiygg  r^jj(]  followers.     There  was  certainly  more  noise, 

and  once  or  twice  I  heard  an  attempt  at  singing,  but  as 

there  was  a  well  recognised  flaw  in   the  voice,  it  was 

postponed  to  another  day. 

At  3  P.M.  of  the  16th  Mr.  Jephson  appeared,  having 
performed  his  mission  of  relief  most  brilliantly.  As 
will  be  seen  by  Mr.  Jephson's  letter  descriptive  of 
his  success,  he  had  been  able  to  proceed  to  the  relief  of 
Captain  Nelson,  and  to  return  with  him  to  Ipoto  within 
seven  days,  after  a  journey  of  about  a  hundred  miles. 
Judging  from  Captain  Nelson's  letter,  he  seemed  to  have 
been  delivered  out  of  his  terrible  position  to  fall  into  a 
similar  desperate  strait  in  the  midst  of  the  plenty  of  Ipoto. 

The  next  day  Khamis  and  his  Man}'uema  returned 
homeward  without  taking  leave.  I  despatched  a  letter 
to  the  officers  at  Ipoto,  sent  Khamis'  ivory  and  a  present 
of  cloth  with  it  to  Inde'karu,  whence  the  Manyuema 
might  be  able  to  obtain  assistance  from  their  own  natives. 
I  was  never  so  dissatisfied  with  myself  as  when  I  was 
compelled  to  treat  these  men  thus  so  kindly,  and  to 
allow  them  to  depart  without  even  the  small  satisfaction 
of  expressing  my  2)rivate  opinion  of  Manyuema  in  general 
and  of  the  gang  at  Ipoto  in  jDarticular.  At  all  points  I 
was  worsted ;  they  compelled  a  generous  treatment  from 
me,  and  finally  trapped  me  into  the  obligation  of  being 
the  carrier  of  their  stolen  ivory. 

Yet  I  felt  grateful  to  them  somewhat  tliat  they  had 
not  taken  greater  advantage  of  my  position.  With 
Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Tarke  and  about  thirty  men  in 
their  power,  tliey  might  have  compelled  a  thousand  con- 
cessions from  me,  which  happily  they  did  not.  I  hoped 
that  after  a  .season  of  forbearance  divine  justice  would 
see  fit  to  place  me  in  ]iiore  independent  circumstances. 
When  the  I)o('toi-  and  Nelson  jiud  their  sick  men  were 
recovered  ;m<l  in  my  camp,  and  the  116  loads  and  boat 
leftat  Ipol't  liccii  conveyed  away,  then,  and  not  till  then, 
would  1  l)c  al)le  to  cast  up  accounts,  and  demand  a  per- 
emptory and  final  settlement.  Tlie  charges  were  written 
plainly  and  fairly,  as  a  memorandum. 


CHARGES  AGAINST  KILONGA   LONG  A. 


273 


Dr. 


67 


Messrs.  Kilonga  Lonoa  iind  Co.,  Ipoto. 

To  Mr.  Stanley,  officers  and  men  of  the  E.  P.  R.  Kxpedition^ 
November  17th,  1887. 

To  having  caused  tlie  starvation  to  deatli  between  the 
Lenda  River  and  Ibwiri  of  67  men:  because  we  had 
crossed  that  river  with  271  men — and  in  camp  with 
those  due  liere  shortly  there  were  only  175,  and  28 
inclusive  of  Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke — therefore 
loss  of  men    ........ 

To  27  men  at  Ipoto  too  feeble  to  travel,  many  of  whom 
will  not  recover. 

To  spearing  to  death  Mufta  Mazinga       .... 

To  flogging  one  man  to  death         ..... 

To  flogging  Ami,  a  Zanzibari,  200  lashes. 

To  attempting  to  starve  Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke. 

To  instigating  robbery  of  two  boxes  of  ammunition. 

To  receiving  thirty  stolen  Eemington  rifles. 

To  various  oppressions  of  Zanzibaris. 

To  compelling  Sarboko  to  work  as  their  slave. 

To  various  insults  to  Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke. 

To  devastating  44,000  square  miles  of  territory. 

To  butchery  of  several  thousands  of  natives. 

To  enslaving  several  hundreds  of  women  and  children. 

To  theft  of  200  tusks  of  ivory  between  May,  1887,  and 
October,  1887. 

To  many  murders,  raids,  crimes,  devastations  past,  present 
and  prospective. 


To  deaths  of  Zanzibaris 
To  mischiefs  incalculable  ! 


69 


During  tlie  afternoon  of  the  I7tli  we  experienced 
once  again  the  evils  attending  our  connection  with  the 
Manyuema.  All  Ibwiri  and  neighbouring  districts  were 
in  arms  against  us.  The  first  declaration  of  their 
hostilities  took  place  when  a  man  named  Simba  pro- 
ceeded to  the  stream  close  to  the  camp  to  draw  water, 
and  received  an  arrow  in  the  abdomen.  Realizing  from 
our  anxious  faces  the  fatal  nature  of  the  w^ound,  he  cried 
out  his  "  Buryani  brothers  !  "  and  soon  after,  being  taken 
into  his  hut,  loaded  a  Remington  rifle  near  him,  and 
made  a  ghastly  wreck  of  features  that  were  once  jovial, 
and  not  uncomely. 

The  reflections  of  the  Zanzibaris  on  the  suicide  were 
curious,  and  best  expressed  by  Sali,  the  tent  boy. 

"  Think  of  it,  Simba  !  a  poor  devil  owning  nothing  in 
the  world,  without  anything  or  anybody  dear  to  him, 
neither   name,   place,   property,    or  honour,  to  commit 

VOL.  I.  S 


1867. 
Nor.  17. 

Ibwiri. 


274  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  suicide !  "Were  lie  a  rich  Arab  now,  a  merchant  Hindu, 
Nov.  17.  ^  captain  of  soldiers,  a  governor  of  a  district,  or  a  white 
man  who  had  suffered  misfortune,  or  had  been  the  victim 
of  dishonour  or  shame,  yea,  I  could  understand  the 
spirit  of  the  suicide ;  but  this  Simba,  who  was  no  better 
than  a  slave,  an  outcast  of  Unyanyembe,  without  friends 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  save  the  few  poor  things  in  his 
own  mess  in  this  camp,  to  go  and  kill  himself  like  a  man 
of  wealth  !  Faugh  !  pitch  him  into  the  wilderness,  and 
let  him  rot !  What  rioht  has  he  to  the  honour  of  a 
shroud  and  a  burial  ?  "  This  was  the  sentiment  of  the 
men  who  were  once  his  comrades — though  not  so 
forcibly  expressed  as  was  done  by  little  Sali  in  his  fierce 
indignation  at  the  man's  presumption. 

Early  on  this  morning  Lieutenant  Stairs  and  thirty-six 
rifles  were  despatched  to  make  a  reconnaissance  east- 
ward under  the  guidance  of  Boryo,  and  a  young  Man- 
yuema  volunteer,  as  we  had  yet  a  few  days  to  wait  for 
the  arrival  of  several  convalescents  who,  wearied  of  the 
cruelties  practised  at  Ipoto  on  them,  preferred  death 
on  the  road  to  the  horrible  servitude  of  the  Manyuema 
slaves. 

On  tlie  19th  Uledi,  the  coxswain  of  the  Advance  with 
his  b(jat's  crew,  arrived,  reporting  that  there  were  fifteen 
convalescents  on  tlie  way.  By  night  they  were  in  the 
camp. 

( )n  the  2 1st  tlic  rec(unioitering  party  under  Lieutenant 
Stairs  returned,  Boryo  still  accompanying  them  ;  nothing 
new  al)out  tlie  grass  land  had  been  ol)tained,  but  they 
icpoi'ted   a  tolerably  good   path   leading   steadily  east 
ward,  which  was  as  comforting  news  as  we  could  expect. 

On  the  23rd,  the  last  day  of  our  stay  at  Ibwiri,  there 
was  a  muster  and  reoi-ganization  : — 

No.  1  coiii|)iuiy,  Jcjdison      ....  80  men. 

No.  2          „         Stiiirs          .         .         .         .  76  „ 

Soudancso .......  5  „ 

Onoks 8  „ 

l5oys 6  „ 

Europcuii.s                               ,          .          .          .  1  „ 

Miinyuoirm  guide          .....  1  „ 

175    „ 


Ibwiri. 


JMFROVET)    CONDITION    OF   THE  MEN.  275 

Inclusive  of  Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke  there  were  issv. 
tweuty-eiglit  at  Ipoto ;  Ave  Lad  left  to  recuperate  at  N"^-^'^- 
Ugarrowwa's  fifty-six.  Some  from  Nelson's  starvation 
camp  under  Umari,  the  headman,  probably  ten,  might 
return  ;  so  that  we  reckoned  the  number  of  the  advance 
column  to  be  268  still  livino-  out  of  389  men  who  had 
departed  from  Yambuya  139  days  previously,  and  put 
down  our  loss  at  111.  We  were  greatly  mistaken, 
however,  for  by  this  date  many  of  the  sick  at  Ugarrowwa's 
had  died,  and  the  condition  of  the  sick  at  Ipoto  was 
deplorable. 

Since  our  arrival  at  Iljwiri  the  majority  of  our  followers 
had  gained  weight  of  body  at  the  rate  of  a  pound  per 
day.  Some  were  positively  huge  in  girth ;  their  eyes 
had  become  lustrous,  and  their  skins  glossy  like  oiled 
bronze.  For  the  last  three  nights  they  had  ventured 
upon  songs ;  they  hummed  their  tunes  as  they  pounded 
their  corn ;  they  sang  as  they  gazed  at  the  moon  at 
night  after  their  evening  meal.  Frequently  a  hearty  laugh 
had  been  heard.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  a  sparring 
match  took  place  between  two  young  fellows,  and  a  good 
deal  of  severe  thumping  was  exchanged ;  they  were 
always  "  spinning  yarns  "  to  interested  listeners.  Life 
had  come  back  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Brooding  over 
skeletons  and  death,  and  musing  on  distant  friends  in 
their  for-away  island,  had  been  abandoned  for  hopeful 
chat  over  the  future,  about  the  not  far  distant  grass 
land  with  its  rolling  savannahs,  and  green  champaigns, 
abounding  in  fat  cattle  ;  and  they  dwelt  unctuously  on 
full  udders  and  massive  humps,  and  heavy  tails  of  sheep, 
and  granaries  of  millet  and  sesame,  pots  of  zogga,  pombe, 
or  some  other  delectable  stimulant,  and  the  Lake  Haven, 
where  the  white  man's  steamers  were  at  anchor,  ap- 
peared distinctly  in  their  visions. 

They  all  now  desired  the  march,  for  the  halt  had  been 
quite  sufficient.  There  were  twenty  perhaps  to  whom 
another  fortnight's  rest  was  necessary,  but  they  all 
appeared  to  me  to  have  begun  recovery,  and,  provided 
food  was  abundant,  their  marching  without  loads  would 
not  be  hurtful. 


Ibwiri. 


276  IN  DARKEST  AFnK'A. 

1887.  ~  At  dawn  of  the  bright  and  sunny  day,  24th  of  Novcm- 
Nov.  24.  i^gj.^  ^|-^g  Soudanese  trumpeter  blew  the  signal  with  such 
cheery  strains  that  found  a  ready  response  from  every 
man.  The  men  shouted  their  "  Ready,  aye  ready, 
Master  !  "  in  a  manner  that  more  reminded  me  of  former 
expeditions,  than  of  any  day  we  had  known  on  this. 
There  was  no  need  of  the  officers  becoming  exasperated 
at  delays  of  laggards  and  the  unwilling ;  there  was  not 
a  malingerer  in  the  camp.  Every  face  was  lit  up  with 
hopefulness.  A  prospective  abundance  of  good  cheer 
invited  them  on.  For  two  days  ahead  the  path  was  known 
by  those  of  the  reconnaissance,  and  the  members  of  the 
party  had,  like  Cale1)  and  Joshua,  expatiated  upon  the 
immense  and  pendent  clusters  of  plantains  effusing 
delicious  odours  of  ripeness,  and  upon  the  garden  plots  of 
potatoes,  and  waving  fields  of  maize,  &c.  Therefore,  for 
once,  we  were  relieved  from  the  anxiety  as  to  who  should 
take  this  load,  or  that  box ;  there  was  no  searching 
about  for  the  carriers,  no  expostulations  nor  threats, 
but  the  men  literally  leaped  to  the  goods  pile,  fought 
for  the  loads,  and  laughed  with  joy  ;  and  the  officers 
faces  wore  grateful  smiles,  and  expressed  j)erfect  content- 
ment with  events. 

AVe  filed  out  of  the  village,  a  column  of  the  happiest 
fellows  alive.  The  accursed  Manyuema  were  behind  us, 
and  in  our  front  rose  in  our  imaginations  vivid  pictures 
of  pastoral  lands,  and  a  great  lake  on  whose  shores  we 
were  to  be  greeted  by  a  grateful  Pasha,  and  a  no  less 
grateful  arniv  of  men. 

Ill  forty-fi\('  minutes  we  arrived  at  Boryo's  village 
(tlic  cliicf"  li;i(l  l)(('u  released  the  day  before),  a  long, 
oi-dcrK'  MiiMiiucniciit  of  a  street  33  feet  wide,  flanked 
l)y  four  Jow  blocks  of  l»uil(lings  400  yards  in  length. 
Accoi'ding  to  the  doors  wc  judged  that  fifty-two  families 
had  foi-me(l  i5oryo's  particulni-  comnninity.  The  chief's 
hous(!  was  recognized  by  .'in  innnensc  slab  of  wood  four 
feet  wi<le  ;ind  six  feet  Ion i^,  .ind  1\vo  inches  thick;  its 
do(»i\vay  beinu'  eut  out  of  tliis  in  a  diamond  figure. 

'I'lie  liei^ilit  of  I  lie  lnond  eaves  was  10  feet  al)Ove  the 
ground,   and    I  lie    lioiises    were    10   feet   in   width.      The 


BOttYO'S    VlLLAOK  277 

eaves  projected  30  inches  in  front,  and  2  feet  over  the     i887. 
back  walls.     Outside  of  the  village  extended,  over  level   ^ov.  24. 
and  high  ground,  the  fields,  gardens,  and  plantations,    ^^^"^'* 
banked  all  round  by  the  untouched  forest,  which  looked 
dark,  ominous,  and  unwelcome.     Altogether  Boryo's  vil- 
lage was  the  neatest  and  most  comfortable  we  had  seen 
throughout  the  valley  of  the  Aruwimi.     One  hundred 
yards  from   the  western  end  ran  a  perennial  and  clear 
stream,  which  abounded  with  fish  of  the  silurus  kind. 

After  a  short  halt  we  resumed  the  journey,  and 
entered  the  forest.  Four  miles  beyond  Boryo's  we 
passed  over  a  swamp,  which  was  very  favourable  to  fine 
growths  of  the  Raphia  palm,  and  soon  after  lunched. 
In  the  afternoon  I  undertook,  as  an  experiment,  to 
count  my  paces  for  an  hour,  and  to  measure  a  space  of 
200  yards,  to  find  the  number  of  inches  to  a  pace,  and 
found  that  the  average  rate  in  a  fair  track  through  the 
forest  w^as  4800  paces  of  26  inches  long  =  3470  yards 
per  hour.  At  3  o'clock  we  camped  in  an  extensive 
pigmies'  village.  The  site  commanded  four  several 
roads,  leading;  to  villao;es.  There  is  no  doubt  it  was  a 
favourite  spot,  for  the  village  common  was  well  tamped 
and  adapted  for  sport,  gossip,  and  meetings.  The  l)ush 
around  the  camp  was  quite  undisturbed. 

On  the  25th,  after  8^  miles  march,  w^e  reached 
Indemwani.  Our  track  led  along  the  w\ater-parting 
between  the  Ituri  and  Ihuru  rivers.  The  village  was  of 
oval  shape,  similar  in  architecture  to  Boryo's.  A  wealth 
of  plantains  surrounded  it,  and  Indian  corn,  tobacco, 
beans,  and  tomatoes  were  plentiful.  In  passing  through 
the  clearing,  over  a  fearful  confusion  of  logs,  one  of  our 
men  toppled  over,  and  fell  and  broke  his  neck. 

From  Indemwani  we  moved  on  the  26th  to  West 
Indenduru,  through  a  most  humid  land.  Streams  were 
crossed  at  every  mile ;  moss,  wet  and  dripping,  clothed 
stems  from  base  to  top.  Even  shrubs  and  vines  were 
covered  with  it. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  day's  march  was  a  broad  highway, 
cut  and  cleared  for  3  miles  through  the  undergrowth, 
which  was  terminated  by  a  large  village  of  the  pigmies, 


^VS  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  but  recently  vacated.  There  were  ninety-two  huts, 
Nov.  26.  ^yiiicii  ^^Q  j^^^j  i^]^Q  ^Q  represent  ninety-two  families,  or 
uru.  ^}^gj.gg^|;)Q^^s^  There  was  one  hut  more  pretentious  than 
the  others,  which  j)ossibly  was  the  chief's  house.  "We 
had  seen  now  about  twenty  villages  of  the  forest  pigmies, 
but  as  yet  we  had  only  viewed  the  pretty  little  woman 
at  Ugarro^'^^a — the  miniature  Hebe. 

Lieutenant    Stairs,    durino;   his    reconnaissance   from 
Il)wiri,  had  reached  AYest  Indenduru,  and  had  left  the 
village  standing ;  but  because  he  had  occupied  it,  the 
natives  had  set  fire  to  it  after  his  departure.   AVe  observed 
also  that  the  Balesse  seldom  ate  of  the  produce  of  a  field 
twice,  and  that  a  plantain  grove,  after  bearing  fruit  once, 
is  abandoned  for  another  ;  and  a  corn  plot,  after  being 
tilled,  sown,  and  harvested,  is  left  to  revert  to  wilder- 
ness.     They  appear  to  be  continually  planting  bananas 
and  preparing  ground  for  corn,  which  accounted  for  the 
immense  clearings  wc  had  passed,  and  for  the  thousands 
of  trees  that  littered  the  ground  in  one  great  ruin.     F(jr 
the  ]:>ananas  or  ])lantains,   they   simply   cut  down    the 
underwood  and  plant  the  young  bulbs  in  a  shallow  hole, 
wuth  sufficient  earth  to  keep  it  upright.      They  then  cut 
the  forest  down,  and  let  the  trees  lie  where  they  falL 
In  six  months  the  Musa  bulbs  have  thriven  wonderfully 
under  shade  and  amono;  roots  and  de'bris,  and  grown  to 
8  feet  in  height ;  within  a  year  they  have  borne  fruit. 
The  Indian  corn  or  maize  requires  sunshine.     The  trees 
are  cut  down  well  aljoxc  the  buttress,  by  building  scaffolds 
10,  15,  or  even  20  feet  high.     The  logs  are  cut  up,  and 
either  split  for  slabs  or  lining  for  the  inner  and  outer 
walls  of  their  huts,  or  scooped  out  for  troughs  for  the 
manufacture  of  j)lantaiii  wine.      The  branches  are  piled 
around  the  plot  to  rot ;  they  do  not  burn  them,  because 
that  would  inipovorish  the  soil,  and  as  the  surface  is  rich 
in  humus,  it  would  Itmn  down  to  the  day. 

Considering  wliat  oi-(.at  labour  is  involved  in  the 
clearing  of  a  portion  of  ])iiiiieval  forest,  M'c  were  tempted 
to  regard  the  l^alcsse  ;is  \ovy  foolish  in  l)nrning  their 
villages  for  sndi  a,  liivial  c.'niscns  one  night's  occupation 
of  them   by   strangers  ;    but  it   Ls   an    instance  of  the 


EAST  AND    WEST  JNDENDURU.  279 

obstinate  sullenness  of   tliese  people.     Boryo's  village,     iss?. 
for   instance,    could    scarcely    be    constructed    under   a  ^"''-  ""• 
twelvemonth.     The  population  of  the  largest  village  we  '"''''"''"^"' 
saw  could  not  exceed  600  souls ;  but  while  we  wonder 
at  their  j^i'ejudices,  we  must  award  credit  to  them  for 
great  industry  and  unlimited  patience  to  produce  such 
splendid  results  as  we  o})served. 

East  Indenduru  was  also  an  exceedingly  well-lniilt 
village,  and  extremely  clean,  though  the  houses  within 
swarmed  with  vermin.  The  street,  however,  was  too 
narrow  for  the  height  of  the  buildings,  and  a  fire  occurring 
in  the  night  might  easily  have  consumed  half  the  inhabi- 
tants. For  the  huts  were  higher  than  at  Boryo's,  and  as 
the  buildings  were  a  few  hundred  yards  in  length,  and  had 
only  one  principal  exit  at  the  eastern  end,  the  danger  of 
a  fire  was  such  that  we  did  not  occupy  it  without  having 
taken  many  precautions  to  avoid  a  possible  disaster  in 
what  appeared  to  be  a  perfect  trap. 

Field- beans,  of  a  dark  variety,  were  gathered  by  the 
bushel,  and  our  men  revelled  in  the  juice  of  the  sugar- 
cane. 

We  were  now  in  S.  Lat.  1°  22|'  and  south  of  the 
watershed,  all  streams  flowing  towards  the  Ituri. 

On  the  28th  we  halted  in  East  Indenduru,  and  sent 
three  separate  reconnoitring  parties  to  obtain  a  knowledge 
of  the  general  direction  of  the  routes  leading  out  of  the 
settlement.  We  had  tested  the  task  of  forming  our  own 
track  through  the  forest  long  enough,  and  having  dis- 
covered one  which  had  been  of  such  service  to  us,  we 
were  loth  to  revert  to  the  tedious  labour  of  travelling 
through  jungles  and  undergrowth  again. 

Jephson's  party  proceeded  S.S.E.,  and  finally  S.,  and 
at  noon  turned  back  to  report.  This  road  would  not  do 
for  us.  Eashid's  party  took  one  leading  E.N.E.,  and 
finally  north,  through  two  small  villages,  one  path  return- 
ing southerly,  another  going  north-easterly.  Continuing 
liis  explorations  along  the  latter,  he  came  to  a  native 
camp.  There  was  a  slight  skirmish  ;  the  natives  fled,  and 
he  obtained  a  prize  of  nine  fat  goats,  only  five  of  which 
they  brought  to  camp.    This  road  would  not  suit  us  either. 


Indenduru. 


580  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  A  third  search  party  was  led  by  a  famous  scout,  who 
Nov.  28.  (discovered  one  path  heading  easterly.  We  resolved  to 
adopt  this. 

On  the  29th  we  left  Indenduru  and  journeyed  to 
Indepessu  by  noon,  and  in  the  afternoon  sheered  by  a 
northerly  path  to  the  settlement  of  the  Baburu,  having 
accomplished  a  distance  of  ten  miles  in  five  hours,  which 
was  exceedingly  fair  walking. 

On  the  next  morning,  after  a  march  of  an  hour  and  a 
half  along  a  tolerably  good  path,  we  emerged  in  front  of  an 
extensive  clearino:  of  about  240  acres.  The  trees  were  but 
recently  cut.  This  marked  the  advent  of  a  powerful  tribe, 
or  a  late  removal  to  new  ground  of  old  settlers  of  some 
numerical  force,  resolved  upon  securing  many  creature 
comforts.  A  captive  woman  of  the  Waburu  led  the  way 
through  the  middle  of  this  wide  abattis,  the  very  sight 
of  which  was  appalling.  An  hour  later  we  had  crossed 
this,  not  without  bruised  shins  and  much  trembling, 
and  the  path  then  led  up  an  easy  ascent  up  a  prolonged 
span  of  a  hill.  The  hollows  on  either  side  of  it  showed 
prodigious  groves  of  plantains  and  many  gardens,  ill- 
kept,  devoted  to  herbs  and  gourds.  Within  thirty  minutes 
from  the  summit  of  the  ascent  we  had  reached  an  altitude 
that  promised  to  give  us  shortly  a  more  extended  view 
than  any  we  had  been  lately  accustomed  to,  and  we 
pressed  gladly  upwards,  and  soon  entered  a  series  of 
villages  that  followed  the  slope.  A  village  of  these  parts 
always  gave  us  a  highway  well  trodden,  from  forty  to 
sixty  feet  wide ;  in  a  series  of  this  type  of  villages  we 
should  soon  be  able  to  2)acc  a  mile.  We  had  passed 
tlirougli  several  fine  separate  long  l)locks  of  low  struc- 
tures, when  the  foremost  of  the  advance  guard  was  seen 
running  swiftly  down  to  meet  me.  lie  asked  me  to  look 
towaids  tlic  suniisc,  and,  tiiniing  my  eyes  in  that 
dire(;tioii,  tlic\'  wci'c^  met  hy  (lie  gratifying  sight  of  a 
fairly  vaiicd  scene  of  })a,sliii('-laii(l  and  forest,  of  level 
('ham])aigiis  and  grassy  sl()j)os  of  valleys  and  hills, 
rocky  knolls  and  soi'lly  rouiidcd  ciiiinences,  a  veritable 
"land  of  hills  and  \allcys,  (liaL  drinkcth  the  rain  of 
heaven."     That  Lhc  open  country  was  well  watered  was 


OtTTSKini'S    0^   THE  FOttEST. 


281 


Bakwnnu 


indicated  by  the  many  irregular  lines  of  woods  which     1887. 
marked  the  courses  of  the  streams,  and  by  the  clumps  of  ^°^-  ^^• 
trees,  whose  crowns  just  rose  above  their  sloping  banks. 
The  great  forest  in  which  we  had  been  so  long  l)uried, 
and  whose  limits  were  in  view,  appeared  to  continue  in- 
tact and  unbroken  to  the  N.E.,  but  to  the  E.  of  it  was 
an  altogether  different  region  of  grassy  meads  and  plains 
and  hills,  freely  sprinkled  with  groves,  clusters,  and  thin 
lines  of  trees  up  to  certain  ranges  of  hills  that  bounded 
the  vision,  and  at  whose  base  I  knew  must  be  the  goal 
whither  we  had  for  months  desired  to  reach. 


VIEW  OF  moi;nt  1'I8Gah  fuum  the  kastwaku. 


This,  then,  was  the  long  promised  view  and  the  long 
expected  exit  out  of  gloom !  Therefore  I  called  the  tall 
peak  terminating  the  forested  ridge,  of  which  the  spur 
whereon  we  stood  was  a  part,  and  that  rose  two  miles  E. 
of  us  to  a  height  of  4600  feet  above  the  sea,  Pisgah, — 
Mount  Pisgah, — because,  after  156  days  of  twilight  in 
the  primeval  forest,  we  had  first  viewed  the  desired 
pasturelands  of  Equatoria. 

The  men  crowded  up  the  slope  eagerly  wdth  inquiring 
open-eyed  looks,  which, before  they  worded  their  thoughts, 
we  knew  meant  "  Is  it  true  ?    Is  it  no  hoax  ?    Can  it  be 


282  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     possible  that  we  are  near  the  end  of  this  forest  hell  ?  " 
Nov.  30.   ^\^Qj  were  convinced  themselves  in  a  few  moments  after 
a  wuiu.  ^YiQj  had  dropped  their  burdens,  and  regarded  the  view 
with  wondering  and  delighted  surprise. 

"  Aye,  friends,  it  is  true.  By  the  mercy  of  God  we  are 
well  nigh  the  end  of  our  prison  and  dungeon  I "  They 
held  their  hands  far  out  yearningly  towards  the  superb 
land,  and  each  looked  up  to  the  bright  blue  heaven  in 
grateful  worship,  and  after  they  had  gazed  as  though 
fascinated,  they  recovered  themselves  with  a  deep  sigh, 
and  as  they  turned  their  heads,  lo  !  the  sable  forest  heaved 
away  to  the  infinity  of  the  west,  and  they  shook  their 
clenched  hands  at  it  with  gestures  of  defiance  and  hate. 
Feverish  from  sudden  exaltation,  they  apostrophised  it  for 
its  cruelty  to  themselves  and  their  kinsmen  ;  they  com- 
pared it  to  Hell,  they  accused  it  of  the  murder  of  one 
hundred  of  their  comrades,  they  called  it  the  wilderness 
of  fungi  and  wood-l^eans  ;  but  the  great  forest  which  lay 
vast  as  a  continent  before  them,  and  drowsy,  like  a  great 
})east,  with  monstrous  fur  thinly  veiled  by  vaporous  ex- 
lialations,  answered  not  a  word,  but  rested  in  its  infinite 
sullenness,  remorseless  and  ini23]acable  as  ever. 

From  S.E.  to  S.  extended  a  range  of  mountains  be- 
tween 6,000  and  7,000  feet  a])ove  the  sea.  One  woman 
captive  indicated  S.E.  as  our  future  direction  to  the  great 
water  that  "  rolled  incessantly  on  the  shore  with  a  boom- 
ing noise,  lifting  and  driving  the  sand  l)efore  it,"  but  as 
we  were  in  S.  Lat.  1°.  22',  on  the  same  parallel  as  Kavalli, 
our  ol)jective  point,  I  preferred  aiming  east,  straight  to- 
wards it. 

Old  Boryo,  cliief  of  Ibwiri,  had  drawn  with  his  ]iand  a 
semicircle  from  S.E.  to  N.W.  as  the  course  of  the  Ituri 
River,  and  said  tliat  tlic  river  rose  from  a  plain  at  the  foot 
of  a  great  liill,  or  a  range  of  hills.  To  the  S.E.  of  Pisgah 
we  could  sec  no  plain,  l)ut  a  deep  wooded  valley,  and  unless 
our  eyes  deceived  us,  the  I'orest  seemed  to  ascend  up  the 
slopes  of  tlic  range  as  far  as  its  summits.  Five  months 
of  travel  in  oik;  continuous  forest  was  surely  experience 
enouirh  ;  a  chaiii^ci  would  therefore  l)e  aoreoable,  even  if 
we  varied  but  our  li;ii-dsliips.      This  was  another  reason 


MOUNT  PJSGATT. 


283 


why  I  proposed  to  decline  all  advice  upon  the  proper 
path  leading  to  the  "  great  water." 

In  the  village  of  the  Bakwuru,  in  which  we  now  pre- 
pared to  encamp,  we  found  sleeveless  vests  of  thick  buffalo 
hide,  which  our  men  secured,  as  fitting  armour  against 
the  arrows  of  the  tribes  of  the  grass  land. 

On  the  1st  of  December  we  retraced  our  steps  down 
the  spur,  and  then  struck  along  a  track  running  easterly. 
In  a  short  time  we  ascended  another  spur  leading  up  to 


1887. 
Kov.  3U. 

Bakwuru. 


VILLAGES   OF   THE   BAKWURU    ON   A   SPUR   OF   PISGAH. 

a  terrace  below  Pisgah  peak,  where  we  obtained  the 
highest  reading  of  the  aneroid  that  we  had  yet  reached. 
We  then  followed  a  path  leading  from  the  terrace  down 
another  spur  to  the  average  level.  A  number  of  well- 
defined  and  trodden  roads  were  crossed,  but  our  path 
seemed  to  increase  in  importance  until,  at  11.15  a.m.,  we 
entered  the  large  village  of  lyugu,  which,  of  course,  wan 
quite  deserted,  so  quickly  do  the  natives  of  the  forest 
seem  to  be  apprised  of  new  arrivals.  The  street  of  this 
village  was  forty  feet  wide. 


284 


/A^  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Dec.  1. 

Bakwuru. 


We  observed  a  considerable  dryness  in  tlie  woods  be 
tween  Pisgah  base  and  lyugu,  which  was  a  great  change 
from  that  excessive  humidity  felt  and  seen  between 
Indenduru  and  Ibwdri.  The  fallen  forest  leaves  had  a 
slightly  crispy  look  about  them  and  crackled  under  our 
feet,  and  the  track,  though  still  in  jorimeval  shade,  had 
somewhat  of  the  dusty  appearance  of  a  village  street. 


AHcf  tli(!  noon 
two  1 1  ours'  niar<'h 
(toiisistiiiL;'     '»!     llii'cc 


halt  we  made  a 
to  a  small  village 
conical    huts,    near 


whic^li  vvc  (aiiipcd.  Tlioiiuli  w(>  had  travelled  over  ten 
miles  we  might  li.-ixc  \n'v\\  lniiidicds  of  miles  yet  from 
the  open  comitry  lor  ;ill  wc  could  gather  from  our 
Kurrouiidiiigs.  l-'or  tlicy  ^\(■^(^  ;is  usual,  of  tall  dense 
woods,  of  true  Iropic  cli.ii.iclci',  dnik,  sombrous  and 
liigli,  bound  one  lo  ihc  oilier  willi  crccpci-.s  uiid  vines, 
and    a    (liirk    iindcr-jrow  I  h     ihrovc    under    (lie    shades. 


WE  REACH   THE  PASTUliE-LAND. 


285 


We,   liowever,   picked    up   a   strange   arrow  in  one  of     i887. 
the    liuts,    which    differed    greatly    from    any    we   had    ^*'''- ^• 
as   yet   seen.     It  w^as   twenty-eight  inches   in   length,     ""  ""^' 
and    its    point    was    spear-shaped,    and    three    inches 
long.     Its  shaft  was  a  light  reed  cane,  beautifully  and 
finely  notched  for  decoration,  a  thin  triangular-shaped 
piece  of  kid  leather    directed 
the    arrow,    instead  of  a  leaf 
or  a  piece  of   black   cloth  as 
hitherto.       A    quiver    full    oi 
forest- tribe    arrows    was    also 
found,  and  they  were  twenty 
inches  long,   and  each  arrow- 
head differed  from  the  other, 
though  each  was  murderousl}' 
sharp  and  barbed. 

On  the  2nd  of  December, 
soon  after  leaving  the  camp, 
we  lost  the  native  road,  and 
had  to  pick  our  way  amongst 
a  perplexing  number  of  Ijufialo 
and  elephant  tracks.  A  stupid 
fellow,  who  had  Ijeen  out 
wandering,  had  informed  us 
that  he  had  reached  the  plain 
the  night  before,  and  that  he 
could  easily  guide  us  to  it. 
Trusting  in  him,  we  soon  lost 
all  signs  of  a  track,  and  began 
a  crooked  and  erratic  course 
through  the  woods,  as  in  times 
past.  After  nearly  three 
hours'  travelling  N.  by  E.  we 

stumbled  upon  a  village,  whose  conical  roofs  were 
thatched  with  grass.  This  was  a  grand  discovery,  and 
was  hailed  wdth  cheers.  One  fellow  literally  rushed  to 
the  grass  and  kissed  it  lovingly.  Already  there  w^ere 
two  characteristics  of  pasture-land  before  us,  the  cone 
hut  and  the  grass  thatch.  We  halted  for  a  noon  rest, 
and  a  few  young  men  took  advantage  of  it  to  explore, 


CHIEF    OF    THE    lYUGU. 


Iiidesura, 


286  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  and  before  the  halting- time  was  expired  brought  to  us 
^*^^"  ^'  a  bunch  of  green  grass,  which  was  hailed  with  devout 
raptures,  as  Noah  and  his  family  may  have  hailed  the 
kindly  dove  with  the  olive  branch.  However,  they 
reported  that  the  way  they  had  followed  led  to  a  swamp, 
and  swamps  being  a  horror  to  a  laden  caravan,  our 
afternoon  march  was  made  in  a  S.S.E.  direction,  which 
in  ninety  minutes  brought  us  to  Indesura,  another 
village,  or  rather  a  district,  consisting  of  several  small 
settlements  of  cone  huts  thatched  with  grass.  Here 
we  halted. 

Having  occasion  to  repair  a  roof  a  man  mounted  to 
the  top  of  a  house,  and  looking  round  languidly  was 
presently  seen  to  lift  his  hand  to  his  eyes  and  gaze 
earnestly.  He  then  roared  out  loud  enough  for  the 
entire  village  to  hear,  "  I  see  the  grassland.  Oh,  but 
we  are  close  to  it ! " 

"  Nay,"  said  one  in  reply,  mockingly,  "  don't  you  also 
see  the  lake,  and  the  steamer,  and  that  Pasha  whom  we 
seek  ? " 

Most  of  us  were,  however,  stirred  by  the  news,  and 
three  men  climbed  up  to  the  roofs  with  the  activity 
of  wild  cats,  others  climl^ed  to  the  tops  of  trees,  while  a 
daring  young  fellow  climbed  one  which  would  have 
tasked  a  monkey  almost,  and  a  chorus  of  exclamations 
rose,  "  Aye,  verily,  it  is  the  truth  of  God,  the  open  land 
is  close  to  us,  and  we  knew  it  not !  Why,  it  is  merely 
an  arrow's  flight  distant !  Ah,  when  we  reach  it,  farewell 
to  darkness  and  blindness." 

As  a  mail  went  to  draw  water  from  the  stream  close 
})y,  an  amiciit  cioiic  stepped  out  of  the  bush,  and  the 
man  <li<»|»|tc<|  his  water-pot  and  seized  her.  She  being 
vigorous  and  ohstinate,  like  most  of  her  sex  just 
j)revi()us  to  dotage,  made  a  ^  igorous  defence  for  her 
liberty.  A  Countess  of  Salisbury  could  not  have  been 
moi-c  resolute,  but  tlie  man  jiossesscd  superior  strength 
and  ciall  and  li.iiiled  \\rv  into  camp.  I >)' dint  of  smiles 
and  coaxing  and  ohse(|ui()Usl v  lilling  a  long  pipe  for  her, 
we  leaiTied  tliat  we  were,  in  Indesuia,  that  the  people 
were   callecl    Wanya-Suia,    that   the   villagers   ipienched 


TOBACCO   AT  JNDE-SURA.  280 

their  thirst  with  the  waters  of  tlie  Ituri.      "  The  Ituri  ?"     1887. 
"  Ay,  the  Ituri ;  this  stream  close  by  ;  "  that  many  days    ^^^'^-  ^■ 
east   of  us   was    a   great    broad   river,  ever   so    much  ^"'^^'^"'■*' 
broader  than  the  Ituri,  with  canoes  as  wide  as  a  house 
(ten  feet)  which  v/ould   carry   six   people  [sic)  ;  that  a 
few  days  north  there  was  a   mighty  tribe   called  the 
Banzanza,  and  east  of  them  another  people  called  the 
Bakandi,  and  both  of  these  tribes  possessed  numerous 
herds  of  cattle,  and  were  very  valorous  and  warlike,  and 
who  were  rich  in  cattle,  cowries,  and  brass  wire. 

Our  ancient  captive,  who  was  somewhat  peculiar  for 
her  taste  in  personal  decoration  by  having  a  wooden 
disk  of  the  size  of  an  ulster  button  intruded  into  the 
centre  of  her  upper  lip,  was  now  seized  with  another  fit 
of  obstinacy  and  scowled  malignantly  at  all  of  us  except 
at  a  bashful  smooth-faced  youth  upon  whom  she 
apparently  doted,  but  the  foolish  youth  ascribed  the 
ugliness  of  agedness  to  witchcraft,  and  fled  from  her. 

Inde-sura — and,  as  we  discovered  later,  all  the  villages 
situated  on  the  edge  of  the  forest — was  remarkable  for 
the  variety  and  excellent  quality  of  its  products.  Mostly 
all  the  huts  contained  large  baskets  of  su^^erior  tobacco 
weighing  from  twenty  to  fifty  pounds  each,  such  quan- 
tities, indeed,  that  every  smoker  in  the  camp  obtained 
from  five  to  ten  pounds.  The  crone  called  it  "  Taba  ;  "  in 
Ibwiri  it  was  called  Tabo.  Owing  to  the  imperfect  dry- 
ing it  is  not  fragrant,  but  it  is  extremely  smokable. 
Fifty  pipefuls  a  day  of  it  would  not  produce  so  much 
effect  on  the  nerves  as  one  of  the  article  known  as 
Cavendish.  But  here  and  there  among  the  leaves  there 
were  a  few  of  rich  brown  colour,  slightly  spotted  with 
nitre  which  produced  a  different  effect.  Two  of  our 
officers  experimented  on  a  j)ipeful  of  this,  which  they 
deemed  to  be  superior,  and  were  inconceivably  wretched 
in  consequence.  When,  however,  these  leaves  are  picked 
out,  the  tobacco  is  mild  and  innocuous,  as  may  be 
judged  by  the  half-pint  pipe-bowls  peculiar  to  this 
region.  In  every  district  near  the  grassland  the  plant 
IS  abundantly  cultivated,  for  the  purpose  of  commerce 
with  the  herdsmen  of  the  plains  in  exchange  for  meat. 

VOL.  I.  T 


290 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Dec.  4. 

I:sde-sui'a. 


The  castor-oil  plant  was  also  extensively  cultivaterl. 
Rei^uiring  a  supply  of  castor-oil  as  medicine,  the  beans 
were  roasted,  and  then  pounded  in  a  wooden  mortar,  and 
we  expressed  a  lair  quantity,  which  proved  very  effective. 
AVe  also  required  a  supply  for  rifles,  and  their  mechanisms, 
and  the  men  prepared  a  supply  for  anointing  their 
bodies — an  operation  which  made  them  appear  fresh, 
clean,  and  vigorous. 

Having  discovered  that  four  of  our  scouts  were 
strangely  absent,  I  despatched  Eashid  bin  Omar  and 
twenty  men  in  search  of  them.  They  were  discovered 
and  brought  to  us  next  morning,  and  to  my  surprise  the 


four  ;il»sentees,  led  by  the  incorrigible  Juma  Wa/iri,  were 
drixiiig  a  flock  of  twenty  fine  goats,  which  the  chief 
scout  had  ca]:)tured  by  a  ruse.  I  had  often  been  tempted 
to  sacrifice  Juma  for  the  benefit  of  others,  l)ut  the  rogue 
always  ay)pear('d  with  such  an  inoffensive,  and  crave- 
your-humble-pardiju  kind  of  face,  which  could  not  be 
resisted.  lie  was  of  a  handsome  Abyssinian  type,  but  the 
liy[)(»ciis\'  on  his  featuiT's  niari-ed  llieii-  iiatural  1)eauty. 
\  Mlinina,  Masai,  Mtatui'U,()r  (Jalla  must  have  meat, 
even  nmic  so  than  llie  Englisliinan.  It  is  an  aTticle  of 
faitli  with  liim,  I  hat  life  is  not  woi'th  living  without  an 
occMsional  taste  ol"  beef.  I  thcicforc  warned  , I uma  again, 
and  consoled   nijscll"  with    the   icllcction,  that  his  career 


AN  INCORRIGIBLE  RAIDER.  291 

as  a  scout  eonkl  only  he  for  a  brief  time,  and  that  he     1887. 
would  surely  meet  natives  of  craft  and  courage  equal  to    ^^'^^  *• 

1  •  1  Ind^-sura. 

Ins  own  some  day. 

We  had  made  an  ineffectual  start  on  this  day,  had 
actually  left  the  village  a  few  hundred  yards  when  we 
were  stopped  by  the  depth  of  a  river  forty  yards  wide 
and  with  a  current  of  two  and  a  half  miles  an  hour. 
The  old  crone  called  this  the  Ituri.  Marvelling  that 
between  Ipoto  and  Ibwiri  a  river  400  yards  wide  could 
be  narrowed  to  such  a  narrow  stream,  we  had  returned 
to  Inde'-sura  for  a  day's  halt,  and  I  had  immediately  after 
sent  Lieutenant  Stairs  and  J\Ir.  Jephson  with  sufficient 
escort  back  along  yesterday's  ^^ath  to  find  a  ford  across 
the  Ituri. 

At  4  P.M.  both  officers  returned  to  report  a  successful 
discovery  of  a  ford  a  mile  and  a  half  higher  up  the 
stream,  and  that  they  had  set  foot  upon  the  grassland, 
in  proof  of  which  they  held  a  bunch  of  fine  young 
succulent  grass.  Meantime,  Uledi  and  his  party  had 
also  found  another  ford  waist  deep,  still  nearer 
Inde'-sura. 

On  the  evening  of  this  day  a  happier  community  of 
men  did  not  exist  on  the  face  of  the  round  earth  than 
those  who  rejoiced  in  the  camp  of  Inde-sura.  On  the 
morrow  they  were  to  bid  farew^ell  to  the  forest.  The 
green  grassy  region  of  which  we  had  dreamed  in  our 
dark  hours,  when  slumljering  heavily  from  exhaustion  of 
body  and  prostration  from  hunger  during  the  days  of 
starvation,  was  close  at  hand.  Their  pots  contained 
generous  supplies  of  juicy  meat ;  in  the  messes 
were  roast  and  boiled  fowls,  corn  mush,  plantain  flour 
porridge,  and  ripe  bananas.  No  wonder  they  were  now 
exuberantly  happy,  and  all  except  ten  or  twelve  men 
were  in  finer  condition  than  when  they  had  embarked  so 
hopefully  for  the  journey  in  the  port  of  Zanzibar. 

On  the  4th  of  December  we  filed  out  of  Inde'-sura  and 
proceeded  to  the  ford.  It  was  waist  deep,  and  at  this 
place  fifty  yards  wide.  Two  of  the  aneroids  indicated 
an  altitude  of  3050  feet  above  the  ocean — 1850  feet 
higher  than  the  level  of  the  river  at  the  landing-place  of 


292  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     yambuya,    and  2000  feet  liioher  than  the    Congo    at 

^«^-  ^-     Stanley  Pool. 

From  the  Ituri  we  entered  a  narrow  belt  of  tall  timber 
on  its  left  bank,  and,  after  waiting  for  the  column  to  cross, 
marched  on,  led  by  Mr.  Mounteney  jephson  along  a  broad 
elephant  track  for  about  600  yards,  and  then,  to  our 
undisguised  joy,  emerged  upon  a  rolling  plain,  green  as 
an  English  lawn,  into  broadest,  sweetest  daylight,  and 
warm  and  glorious  sunshine,  to  inhale  the  pure  air 
with  an  uncontrollable  rapture.  Judging  of  the  feelings 
of  others  by  my  own,  we  felt  as  if  we  had  thrown  all  age 
and  a  score  of  years  away,  as  we  stepped  with  invigorated 
limbs  upon  the  soft  sward  of  young  grass.  We  strode 
forward  at  a  pace  most  unusual,  and  finally,  unable  to 
suppress  our  emotions,  the  whole  caravan  broke  into  a 
run.  Every  man's  heart  seemed  enlarged  and  lifted  up 
with  boyish  gladness.  The  blue  heaven  above  us  never 
seemed  so  spacious,  lofty,  pure,  and  serene  as  at  this 
moment.  We  gazed  at  the  sun  itself  undaunted  by  its 
glowing  brightness.  The  young  grass,  only  a  month 
since  the  burning  of  the  old,  was  caressed  by  a  bland, 
soft  breeze,  and  turned  itself  about  as  if  to  show  us  its 
lovely  shades  of  tender  green.  Birds,  so  long  estranged 
from  us,  sailed  and  soared  through  the  lucent  atmosphere  ; 
antelopes  and  elands  stood  on  a  grassy  eminence  gazing 
and  wondering,  and  then  bounded  ujDward  and  halted 
snorting  their  surprise,  to  which  our  own  was  equal ; 
buffaloes  lifted  their  heads  in  amazement  at  the  intruders 
on  flioir  silent  domain,  heaved  their  l)u]ky  forms,  and 
troopcMl  away  to  a  safer  distance.  A  hundred  square 
miles  of  gloiious  country  opened  to  our  view — apparently 
(les(M-ted — for  wo  had  not  as  yet  been  able  to  search  out 
the  fine  details  of  it.  Leagues  upon  leagues  of  bright 
green  j)astui-e  laud  inidulated  in  geiitle  waves,  intersected 
\)\  iiaiTow  winding  lines  of  umbrageous  trees  that  filled 
llic  hollows,  scores  of  gentle  hills  studded  with  dark 
cli'nijis  of  thicket,  graced  here  and  there  by  a  stately 
tree,  lordecl  it  over  level  breadths  of  pasture  and  softly 
Rloj)ing  ('ha]n])aigns  ;  and  far  away  to  the  east  rose  some 
frowning  ranges  of  mountains  beyond  which  we  were 


WE  REACH   THE   GRASS  LAND.  295 

certain   slept  in   its  deep  gulf  the  blue  Albert.     Until      i887. 
breatlilessntss  forced  a  halt,  the  caravan  had  sped  on  the    ^'"  ■  ^' 
double-quick — for  this  was  also  a  pleasure  that  had  been  ^'■^*'*^*°'^ 
lono'  deferred. 

Then  we  halted  on  the  crest  of  a  commanding  hill  to 
drink  the  beauty  of  a  scene  to  which  we  knew  no 
rival,  which  had  been  the  subject  of  our  thoughts  and 
dreams  for  months,  and  now  we  were  made  "  glad  ac- 
cording to  the  days  wherein  we  had  been  afflicted  and 
the  period  wdierein  we  had  seen  evil."  Every  face  gloated 
over  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  and  reflected  tlie  secret 
pleasure  of  the  heart.  The  men  were  radiant  with  the 
fulfilment  of  dear  desires.  Distrust  and  sullenness  were 
now  utterly  banished.  We  were  like  men  out  of  durance 
and  the  dungeon  free  and  unfettered,  having  exchanged 
foulness  and  damp  for  sweetness  and  purity,  darkness 
and  gloom  for  divine  light  and  wholesome  air.  Our 
eyes  followed  the  obscure  track,  roved  over  the  pasture 
hillocks,  great  and  small,  every  bosky  islet  and  swarded 
level  around  it,  alono^  the  irref^ularities  of  the  forest  line 
that  rose  darkly  funereal  behind  us,  advancing  here, 
receding  there,  yonder  assuming  a  bay-like  canoe,  here 
a  cape-like  point.  The  mind  grasped  the  minutest 
peculiarity  around  as  quick  as  vision,  to  cling  to  it  for 
many,  many  years.  A  score  of  years  hence,  if  we  live  so 
long,  let  but  allusion  be  made  to  this  happy  hour  when 
every  soul  trembled  with  joy,  and  praise  rose  spon- 
taneously on  every  lip,  and  we  shall  be  al)le  to  map  the 
whole  with  precision  and  fidelity. 

After  examinino;  the  contour  of  the  new  reoion  before 
us  with  the  practical  view  of  laying  a  course  free  from 
river  or  swamp,  I  led  the  Expedition  N.N.E.  to  a  rocky 
knoll  which  was  about  four  miles  from  us,  in  order  to 
strike  the  southern  Ijase  of  a  certain  hilly  range  that 
ran  E.  by  S.  from  the  knoll.  I  imagined  we  should 
then  be  able  to  travel  over  upland,  trending  easterly, 
without  much  inconvenience. 

We  reached  the  base  of  the  rock-heap  that  stood  about 
300  feet  above  the  valley  to  our  right,  then  perceiving 
that  the  obscure   oame   track  we  had  followed  had  de- 


o 


Grass  Land. 


296  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  veloped  into  a  native  liigliway  running  N.E.,  we  struck 
^^^•*'  across  the  grassy  upland  to  retain  our  hold  upon  the 
crown  we  had  gained,  the  short  young  grass  enabling  us 
to  do  so  without  fatigue.  But  near  noon  the  tall  unburnt 
grass  of  last  season  interrupted  our  too-easy  advance 
with  its  tangle  of  robust  stalks  of  close  growth ;  but  we 
bore  on  until  12.30,  and  after  an  hour  of  serious  exercise 
halted  by  the  side  of  a  crystal  stream  for  refreshments. 

In  the  afternoon  we  breasted  the  opposing  grassy 
slope,  and,  after  an  hour  and  a  half  of  rapid  pacing,  selected 
a  camp  near  the  junction  of  two  streams,  which  flowed 
south-easterly.  Relieved  from  their  1  )urdens,  a  few  tireless 
fellows  set  out  to  forage  in  some  villages  we  had  observed 
far  below  our  line  of  march  in  the  valley.  The  sudden- 
ness of  their  descent  among  the  natives  provided  them 
with  a  rich  store  of  fowls,  sugar-cane,  and  ripe  branches 
of  bananas.  They  brought  us  specimens  of  the  weapons 
of  this  new  land  :  several  long  bows  and  lengthy  arrows  ; 
shields  of  a  heavy  rectangular  form,  formed  of  a  double 
row  of  tough  rods  crossed,  and  tightly  bound  together 
with  fibre  and  smeared  with  some  gummy  substance. 
They  presented  very  neat  workmanship,  and  were  alto- 
gether impenetrable  to  arrows  or  spears.  Besides  shields 
the  natives  wore  vests  of  buffalo  hide,  which  appeared  to 
be  quite  impervious  to  pistol  shots. 

Our  course  as  far  as  the  rocky  knoll  already  described 
was  nearly  parallel  with  the  edge  of  the  forest,  our  path 
varying  in  distance  from  it  from  a  half  mile  to  a  mile 
and  a  half  As  a  sea  or  a  lake  indents  its  shore,  so 
appeared  the  view  of  the  line  of  forest. 

The  trend  of  the  Ituri  tliat  we  had  crossed,  which  we 
nmst  call  AV(!st  Ituri,  was  E.S.E..  I  should  have  esti- 
mated the  source  of  the  river  to  liave  been  distant  from 
the  crossing  about  25  geographical  miles  N.N.W. 

On  the  next  day  we  advanced  up  a  long  slope  of  short 
grass  land,  and  on  the  crest  halted  to  arrange  the 
column  with  more  order,  lest  we  might  be  suddenly 
confronted  by  ;in  overwhelming  force,  for  we  were  as 
yet  ignorant  of  tlu;  land,  its  people,  and  the  habits  of 
those   among    whom    we    had    dropped    so    suddenly. 


Tim  J  TUB  J   niVER.  297 

Marching  forward  we  chose  a  slight  track  that  followed  i887. 
the  crest  leading  E.  by  S.,  but  soon  all  traces  of  it  were  ^'^''■'*- 
lost.  However,  we  were  on  a  commanding  upland,  and 
a  score  of  miles  were  visible  to  us  in  any  direction  out 
of  which  we  might  select  any  course.  A  village  was  in 
view  N.E.  of  us,  and  to  it  we  directed  our  steps,  that 
we  might  avail  ourselves  of  a  path,  for  the  closely- 
packed  acreages  of  reedy  cane  and  fifteen-feet-high  grass, 
that  we  stumbled  upon  occasionally,  were  as  bad  as  the 
undergrowth  of  the  jungle.  The  very  tallest  and 
rankest  grass  impeded  us,  and  prevented  rapid  advance. 
We  crossed  jungly  gullies,  on  whose  muddy  ground  were 
impressed  the  feet  of  lions  and  leopards,  and  finally 
entered  a  tract  ot  acacia  thorn,  which  was  a  sore  an- 
noyance, and  out  of  this  last  we  emerged  into  the 
millet  fields  of  Mljiri.  In  a  few  seconds  -the  natives 
were  warned  of  our  approach,  and  fied  instinctively,  and, 
Parthian -like,  shot  their  long  arrows.  The  scouts  dashed 
across  every  obstacle,  and  seized  a  young  w^oman  and  a 
lad  of  twelve,  who  were  the  means  of  instructing  our 
poor  ignorance.  No  long  conversation  could  be  main- 
tained with  them,  owing  to  our  very  imperfect  knowledge 
of  any  dialect  spoken  near  this  region,  l)ut  a  few  names 
of  nouns  assisted  by  gestures  brought  out  the  fact  that 
we  were  in  the  district  of  Mbiri,  that  the  main  road 
easterly  would  take  us  to  the  Babusesse  country,  that 
beyond  them  lay  the  Aluinguma,  all  of  which  naturally 
we  heard  with  supreme  indifterence.  What  did  such 
names  convey  to  dull  senses  and,  blank  minds  ?  They 
had  never  heard  of  Shakespeare,  Milton,  or  even  of  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen 

"  Had  any  of  them  heard  of  Muta,  or  Luta  Nzige  ?  " 

A  shake  of  the  head. 

"  Of  Unyoro  ?  " 

"  Unyoro  ?     Yes.     Unyoro    lies   a    great    way   off," 
pointing  east. 

"  Of  a  great  water  near  Unyoro  ?  " 

"  The  Ituri,  you  mean  ?  " 

"  No,  wider  ;  ever  so  much  wider  than  the  Ituri — as 
wide  as  all  this  plain." 


Babusesse. 


298  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1887.  But  instead  of  confining  themselves  to  monosyllables, 
Dec.  5.  T^.j^ich  we  might  easily  have  understood,  the  wretched 
woman  and  boy,  anxious  to  convey  too  much  informa- 
tion, smothered  comprehension  by  voluble  talk  in  their 
dialect,  and  so  perplexed  us  that  we  had  recourse  to 
silence  and  patience.  They  would  show  us  the  way  to 
Babusesse  at  least. 

The  mode  of  hut  construction  is  similar  to  that  seen 
all  over  East  and  Central  Africa.  It  is  the  most 
popular.  A  cone  roof  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  height ; 
one-third  is  devoted  to  the  height  of  the  walls.  Huts 
of  this  pattern,  scattered  amongst  the  banana  groves,  are 
found  every  few  dozen  yards.  Paths  lead  from  one  to  the 
other,  and  are  most  baffling  to  the  stranger,  who  without 
a  local  guide  must  necessarily  go  astray.  To  every 
group  of  huts  there  are  attached  outhouses  for  cooking 
sheds,  for  gossip,  to  store  fuel,  and  doing  chores  ;  also 
circular  grass-walled  and  thatched  little  granaries  raised 
a  foot  or  so  aljove  the  ground  as  j^rotection  against 
vermin  and  damp. 

Our  people  obtained  a  large  quantity  of  ripe  plan- 
tains and  ripe  bananas,  out  of  which  the  aborigines 
manufacture  an  intoxicating  wine  called  mariva.  A  few 
goats  were  also  added  to  our  flock,  and  al)out  a  dozen 
fowls  were  taken.  All  else  were  left  untouched  according 
to  custom,  and  we  resumed  our  journey. 

The  path  was  well  trodden.  Traffic  and  travel  had 
tampe<l  it  hard  and  smooth.  It  led  S.E.  by  E.  up  and 
down  grassy  hills  and  vales.  Near  noon  we  halted  for 
refreshments,  shaded  by  fine  woods,  and  close  by 
l)Oomed  a  loud  cataract  of  tlic  Ituri,  we  were  told. 
This  was  ratlier  puzzling.  We  could  not  understand 
how  tlie  Ituri,  wliicli  we  had  forded  the  day  before, 
could  be  I'oariiig  over  preci{)i(tes  and  terraces  at  this 
high  altitu(h',  and  after  we  had  purposely  struck  away 
from  its  valley  to  a\'oitl  i(. 

A  march  of  an  hour  and  ;i  luiH"  in  the  afternoon, 
ji|)|);ircnt  I\-  nol  very  hir  IVoni  (he  jivcr,  brought  us 
to  the  |)o|)uh)Us  dislrictof  the  P)abus('s,s(''.  '^Phe  banana 
2>hintations    were     very     extensive,     reminding    me    of 


DISTBIGT   OF   THE  BABUSESSE. 


299 


Uganda,  and  their  deep  shades  covered  a  multitude  of     1887. 
huts.       Fields    of  millet   and   sesame,    plots   of  sweet    ^^'^•^• 
potatoes,  occupied  the  outskirts   of   these  plantations,  ^^^"^^^''^ 
and  there  was  ample  evidence  round  ahout   that   the 
land  was  thickly  peopled  and  industriously  cultivated. 

Before  entering  the  banana  shades  we  repaired  our 
ranks,  and  marched  in  more  compact  order.  A  strong 
body  of  men  armed  with  Winchesters  formed  the 
advance  guard  ;  a  similar  number  of  men  armed  with 
Remingtons,  under  the  command  of  Stairs,  closed  the 
rear  of  the  colunni.  But  however  well  cautioned  the 
men  were  as^ainst  breaking 
rank,  no  sooner  had  the 
advance  guard  passed  safely 
tlirou2;h  a  dano^erous  local- 
ity  than  the  main  body  in- 
variably despatched  scores 
of  looters  into  huts  and 
granaries  to  hunt  up  booty 
and  fowls,  bananas,  goats, 
sugar-cane,  and  trivial  ar- 
ticles of  no  earthly  use. 
These  plantations  hid  a 
large  numl)er  of  natives, 
who  permitted  the  advance 
to  pass  because  their  files 
were  unbroken,  and  their 
eyes  on  the  watch,  but  those 

straggling  looters  soon  gave  the  aborigines  the  oppor- 
tunity. Some  arrows  flew  well  aimed ;  one  pinned  a 
man's  arm  to  his  side,  another  glancing  from  a  rib 
admonished  its  owner  of  his  folly.  A  volley  from  rifles 
drove  the  men  away  from  their  covert  without  harm 
to  any  of  them. 

At  the  easternmost  settlement  we  camped.  There 
were  only  two  large  conical  huts  and  other  outhouses  in 
it,  and  around  these  the  huts  for  the  night  were  ar- 
ranged hastily,  put  up  with  banana  leaves  suflicienb  to 
shed  rain  and  dew. 

At  dusk  I  called  the  captives  to  me  again,  and  at- 


SHIELDS   OF   BABUSESSE. 


Babnsesse. 


300  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     tempted,  during  half  an  lioiir,  to  gain  a  lucid  answer  to 
^^'^-  "•    the  question  as  to  whether  there  was  a  great  body  of 
water  or  great  river  east  of  us.     When  one  of  the  head- 
men who  were  assisting  us  demanded  to  know  which  was 
the  largest  Nyanza,  that  of  Unyoro,  or  that  of  Uganda — 

"  Nyan^a  !  "  cried  the  native  boy — "  Nyanza  ?  Ay, 
the  Nyanza  lies  this  way  "  (pointing  east)  "  and  extends 
that  way"  (north-east)  "  a  long  distance;"  and  when 
asked  how  many  "  sleeps  "  intervened  between  the  Babu- 
sesse,  held  up  three  lingers  on  his  dexter  hand,  and 
answered  "  three." 

It  was  now  dark,  and  we  were  suddenly  startled  by  a 
shriek  of  pain,  and  a  sequent  yell  singularly  weird,  and 
with  a  note  of  triumph  in  it,  and  in  the  silence  that 
followed  we  heard  the  hurtling  of  arrows  through  the 
banana  leaves  above  our  heads. 

"  Put  out  the  fires !  Keep  cool.  Where  are  the 
sentries  ?  Why  are  they  not  at  their  posts  ?  "  were  the 
next  words  uttered. 

The  natives  had  stolen  on  us  at  the  very  hour  when 
the  camp  was  least  watched,  for  it  was  supper-time,  and 
the  guards,  except  on  unusual  occasions,  were  permitted 
to  feed  before  going  out  on  guard  duty  for  the  night. 
We  soon  ascertained  that  one  arrow  had  penetrated  the 
thigh  of  a  man  named  Salim  to  the  depth  of  four  inches, 
another  had  pierced  the  roast  leg  of  a  kid  before  the  fire, 
several  others  had  perforated  banana  stalks.  Salim,  after 
a  little  coaxing,  l)ravely  drew  out  the  shaft  until  the 
})arbed  point  was  seen,  when,  with  a  wrench,  I  extracted 
it  with  a  })air  of  pincers.  Eucalyptine  was  then  applied 
to  the  wound,  and  the  man  was  sent  to  his  quarters. 

Half  an  hour  later,  all  the  guards  being  now  on  duty, 
however,  the  natives  essayed  another  quarter  of  the 
camp,  l)ut  the  rifle-shots  rang  out  quickly  in  reply,  and 
there  was  a  sf-amper  and  a  rustle  heard.  In  the  distance 
we  heard  two  i-itlcs  fired,  and  an  agonised  cry,  by  which 
we  knew  that  there  were  some  of  our  incorrigible  looters 
a})road. 

Our  force  was  weak  enough,  in  all  conscience,  not  in 
nuudxTS,  but  iu  real  strength,  for  defence  and  capacity 


NATIVES   ATTACK    THE    CAMP.  301 

for  bearing  ammunition,  and  these  wanderers  were  always     i887, 
a  source  of  great  anxiety  to  me.     It  was  useless  to  reason    ^^'^■^^ 
and    expostulate ;    only    downright   severity   restrained    ^  "''^^ 
them,  and  as  yet,  so  fresh  were  we  from    the  horrors 
of   the    forest,  that  I  had    not    the    moral    courage  to 
apply    the    screw    of   discipline ;    but  when  I  assumed 
mildness,  their  ow^n  heedless  imprudence  incurred  punish- 
ments far  more  severe  than  any  of  us  would  ever  have 
thought  of  inflicting. 

A  heavy  rain  fell  on  us  during  the  night,  w^hich 
detained  us  next  morning  until  eight  o'clock.  I  em- 
ployed the  time  in  extracting  something  intelligible 
respecting  the  character  of  the  natives  in  front,  but  we 
were  all  so  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  language  that  w^e 
could  make  but  little  headway.  In  the  endeavour  to 
make  herself  clear,  the  woman  drew  on  the  ground  a 
sketch  of  the  course  of  the  Ituri.  This  illustrated  one  of 
the  strangest  facts  in  African  geography  that  one  could 
imagine.  The  river  was  represented  as  going  up  to  the 
crest  of  the  watershed,  flowing  steeply  upward  parallel 
with  Lake  Albert,  and  finally  lifting  itself  over  to  be 
precipitated  into  the  Nyanza  !  Stupefied  by  what  she 
said,  I  kept  her  by  me  as  we  marched  out  of  camp  into 
the  open.  From  the  crown  of  a  hill  she  pointed  out, 
half  a  mile  below,  the  Ituri  Eiver  flowdng  eastward.  The 
stretch  in  view  was  an  east  by  south  course. 

Now  here  was  a  deep  puzzle.  We  had  crossed  from 
the  right  bank  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Ituri  two  days 
previously,  in  N.  Lat.  1°  24' ;  we  were  now  in  N.  Lat. 
1°  28'.  Yet  the  Ituri  we  saw  flowed  E.  by  S.  and 
E.S.S.,  and  my  route  to  Kavalli  was  obviously  south  of 
east. 

I  declined  to  perplex  myself  any  more  with  the 
problem,  or  in  trying  to  understand  what  the  w^oman 
meant,  that  the  river  we  had  ascended  for  600  miles 
from  the  Congo  flowed  to  the  Nya-nza.  The  only 
solution  possible  was  that  there  were  two  Ituris,  one 
flowing  to  the  Congo,  the  other  into  the  Nile  basin  ; 
but  both  she  and  her  brother  stoutly  maintained  that 
there  was  only  one  Ituri. 


Babusesse. 


802  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  We  coiitinuerl  on  our  journey,  followino;  n  path  which 

Dec.  5.  ,|ippgj  down  into  the  valley.  We  presently  stood  on 
the  banks  of  the  stream,  and  the  solution  was  at  hand. 
It  was  the  main  Ituri  Eiver,  flowing  south  of  west  1  We 
are  all  wise  after  the  event. 

There  was  a  clumsy,  misshapen  canoe  in  the  river, 
and  as  Saat  Tato  was  an  expert  canoeist,  he  was 
detailed  to  ferry  the  caravan  over  for  a  reward  of 
20  dollars.  The  river  was  125  yards  broad,  about  seven 
feet  average  depth,  with  a  current  of  two  knots.  It 
was  a  cataract  of  this  stream  whose  low  thunder  we 
had  heard  near  Mbiri. 

The  natives  of  Abunguma,  on  the  left  side  of  the 
river,  watched  our  operations  from  a  hill-top  a  mile 
olf,  with  an  air  of  confidence  which  seemed  to  say, 
"  All  right,  friends.  AVhen  you  are  through,  you  will 
have  to  reckon  with  us."  Nothing;  could  be  done  in 
such  an  open  land  as  this  without  '•  all  the  world 
knowing  it."  The  Abunguma  shook  their  spears  bravely 
at  us ;  the  Babusesse  occupied  every  prominent  point 
on  the  right  side  of  the  river.  It  appeared  once  or 
twice  as  if  our  manhood  was  about  to  be  tested  on  an 
important  scale.  There  w^as  the  comfort,  however,  that, 
knowino;  the  natives  to  be  alert  and  active,  we  could 
not  be  surprised  on  a  pasture  slope  where  the  grass 
around  the  c^amp  was  but  three  inches  high. 

Since  we  had  entered  Ibwiri  we  had  fared  luxuriously 
— for  Africa.  Wc  had  enjoyed  meat  and  milk  daily. 
We  liad  lived  on  fowls,  young  and  dried  l)eans,  sugar- 
cane, sweet  potatoes,  yams,  colocassia,  tomatoes,  bi'injalls, 
melons,  j'l'Hi^'^his,  and  liauauas.  On  the  people  the 
cfrect  was  woiidcifnl.  Tliey  were  men  in  every  respect 
KU[)('i'ior  l>()(li  ill  liodvand  spirit  to  the  gaunt  and  craven 
wretches  wlioin  llic  Aial)  slaves  of  Ipoto  scourged  and 
speared  williout  move  than  a  mild  protest.  On  the 
whites  also  llie  cd'cct  had  lu'cn  most  beneficial,  '^^riiough 
spare,  we  were  ni»  loiiucr  nieagi'c  and  haggard  ;  a  little 
wine  would  have  conij)iete(l  the  cure. 

A  trentle  tji'assv  slope,  on  the  next  inorninu',  took  us. 
in  the  course  of  an  Ikjiii-    (o    I  he   crown  of  one  of  those 


SUSPENSWN  BRIDGE  ACROSS    THE  EAST  ITURI.      .S03 

long  undulations  so  (•liaructeristi(3  of  this  region.  It  i887. 
furnislied  us  with  anotlier  all-round  view  peculiarly  ^ec.  5. 
interesting  to  us.  Our  intended  direction  was  south-  ^  "^"^^^^^ 
east,  as  we  w^ere  bearing  for  a  high  conical  peak  at 
the  end  of  a  range  of  grass-covered  mountains,  which 
afterwards  l)ecame  known  to  us  as  Mazaniljoni's  Peak. 
We  dipped  dow^n  into  delightful  vales,  watered  by  cool 
and  clear  brooks.  Close  to  these  were  small  clusters  of 
native  homesteads,  with  their  fields  of  unripe  sorghum, 
sweet  potato,  and  sugar-cane  patches,  &c.  But  the 
homesteads  were  all  abandoned,  and  their  owners  were 
ol)serving  us  from  the  sky-line  of  every  superior  hill. 
Finally  w^e  passed  an  empty  cattle  zeriba,  the  sight  of 
which  was  loudly  cheered,  and  cries  of  "  Ay,  the  master 
is  right,  and  every  word  comes  to  pass.  First  wall  come 
the  grass-land,  then  the  cattle  with  brave  men  to  defend 
them,  then  hills,  then  the  Nyanza,  and  lastly  the  white 
man.  The  grass-land  we  have  seen,  liere  is  the  cattle 
yard,  yonder  are  the  mountains,  the  brave  men  and  the 
Nyanza  and  the  white  man  we  shall  yet  see,  please 
God." 

We  bore  on  our  way  to  a  valley  through  which 
another  river  rushed  and  roared.  On  our  left  was  a  ruffffed 
line  of  rocks  that  rose  in  huge  and  detached  masses,  on 
the  top  of  which  a  dozen  men  might  be  seated  comfort- 
ably. Connecting  these  huge  rock  masses  was  a  lower 
line  of  rocks,  more  uniform,  forming  the  bare  spine 
of  a  ridge.  At  some  places  wx  passed  so  close  to  the 
base  of  this  hill  that  we  were  within  easy  stone's  throw 
of  the  summits.  But  though  we  w^ere  prepared  for  a 
demonstration,  the  natives  remained  singularly  quiet. 
The  path  we  followed  halted  at  a  suspension  bridge 
across  a  third  "  Ituri,"  which  had  better  be  distinguished 
as  East  Ituri  to  prevent  misunderstanding.  This  last 
river  was  thirty  yards  wide,  deep  and  swift  as  a  rapid. 
Spanned  by  a  bridge  of  such  fragile  make  that  we  could 
only  pass  one  at  a  time  in  safety,  it  required  one 
hundred  and  twenty  seconds  for  a  single  person  to  cross 
the  ninety-feet  span,  and  the  caravan  was  not  on  the 
other  side  entirely  before  6  P.M.     As  the  crossing  was  in 


304 


m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Dec.  6. 

Itnri 
Biver. 


a  position  of  great  disadvantage,  riflemen  had  been  on 
the  look-out  all  day. 

In  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  fine  black  cow  and  her  calf 
issue  out  of  a  defile  in  the  rocky  ridge  just  described, 
and  clamours  of  "  Beef,  beef — ay,  beef,  how  are  you  ? 
we  have  not  seen  you  since  we  were  young ! "  rose  loud. 
The  Abunguma  had  hidden  their  cattle  among  the  rocky 
hills,  and  these  specimens  had  probably  been  refractory. 


SUSrENSlUN    liltllXilC    ACUOSS   TlllC    10.    ITUIU. 


Leaving  lln'  piiliir('s<|uc  valley  of  East  Ituri  on  the 
8th,  we  ascciidcd  ,111  easy  slo])e  to  the  top  of  a  hill  where 
we  <tbt;iinc(|  ,1  long  x'ww  of"  llie  crooked  and  narrow 
valley  of  IIkj  l^ast  Jturi,  and  were  able  to  observe  that 
it  came  IVom  an  east-south-east  (lire('tion.     Shortly  after. 


Undus- 
suina, 


rOPULOUS   SETTLEMENTS.  305 

sometliing  more  like  a  plain  opened  before  us,  extending     I887. 
over  a  score  of  miles  to  the  south,  bordered  on  the  north    I;'®';-  ^ 
by  the  stony  ridge  and  valley  we  had  just  left  behind, 
while  to  the  eastward  rose  Mazamboni's  mountain  range, 
whose  northern  end,  conspicuous  by  the  tall  2)eak,  was 
our  present  objective  point. 

At  9.30  A.M.  we  had  approached  several  miles  nearer 
this  mountain  range,  and  before  descending  into  the 
valley  of  a  streamlet  flowing  northward,  we  observed 
with  wonder  that  the  whole  intervening  sj)ace  as  far  as 
the  mountains  was  one  mass  of  plantations,  indicative  of 
a  powerful  po|)ulation.  Here  then,  we  thought,  "  will 
be  the  tug  of  war.  The  Abunguma  have  left  their 
settlements  in  order  to  join  this  numerous  tribe,  and 
meet  us  with  a  fitting  reception."  No  more  populous 
settlements  had  l)een  seen  since  we  had  departed  from 
Bangala  on  the  Congo.  A  suspicion  that  these  were 
among  the  confederation  of  tribes  who  hemmed  in  the 
poor  anxious  governor  of  Equatoria  also  crept  into  our 
minds,  as  we  looked  upon  this  huge  display  of  numbers 
and  evidence  of  wealth  and  security. 

With  the  view  of  not  provoking  the  natives,  and  of 
preventing  the  incorrigible  looters  of  the  column  from 
the  conmiission  of  mischief,  we  took  a  south-east  track 
to  skirt  the  district.  We  were  able  to  steer  our  course 
between  the  plantations,  so  that  no  cover  was  afforded  to 
an  enemy.  At  11.30  we  had  reached  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  the  district,  and  then  rested  for  the  noon  halt 
and  refreshment,  under  the  shadow  of  a  tree  whose 
branches  rustled  before  a  strong  cool  breeze  from  the 
Nyanza. 

Resuming  the  march  at  1  P.M.  we  entered  the  depths 
of  banana  plantations^  marvelling  at  the  great  industry 
evinced,  and  the  neatness  of  the  cultivated  plots.  The 
conical  homesteads  were  large  and  partitioned  within,  as 
we  observed  while  passing  through  a  few  open  doorways, 
by  screens  of  cane  grass.  Every  village  w^as  cleanly 
swept,  as  though  they  had  been  specially  prepared  for 
guests.  Each  banana  stalk  was  loaded  with  bananas, 
the  potato  fields  were  extensive,  the  millet  fields  stretched 

VOL.    I.  U 


Undus 
sum;i 


306  JN   DARKEST   AFRICA. 

1887.  away  on  either  side  ]>y  huiRlrcds  of  acres,  and  the  many 
).'c.  8.  gi-aj^^aj^-iey  ^1^.^^  \y^n\  lately  been  erected  mnnifested  ex- 
pectations of  a  l)ountiful  harvest. 

We  finally  emerged  from  the  corn-fields  without  being 
once  annoyed.  We  thought  the  natives  had  been  cowed 
by  exaggerated  reports  of  our  power,  or  they  had  been 
disconcerted  by  our  cautious  manoeuvre  of  leaving  a  fair 
open  margin  between  the  line  of  march  and  the  groves ; 
but  much  to  our  surprise  we  encountered  no  opposition., 
though  large  masses  of  the  aborigines  covered  the 
eminences  borderinsf  our  route. 

The  broad  and  w^ell- trodden  path  tow^ards  the  moun- 
tains which  we  were  now  rapidly  approaching  l)isected  an 
almost  level  plain,  three  miles  wide,  rich  with  pasture 
grass  in  flower.  The  Eastern  Ituri  was  not  far  ofi"  on 
our  left  flank,  and  on  the  other  side  of  it  another 
populous  settlement  w^as  in  view. 

At  3  P.M.  we  arrived  at  the  base  of  the  Mountain  of 
the  Peak.  Many  of  its  highest  points  were  crowned 
with  clusters  of  huts.  The  cotes  of  the  natives  were  in 
the  folds  of  the  mountain  fronting  us.  The  j^eople 
gathered  in  large  groups  on  the  nearest  summits,  and 
when  we  were  near  enouo;h  the  shouts  of  defiance  were 
uttered  wdth  loud  and  strident  voices.  We  estimated 
the  averacje  liei<i:lit  of  the  liills  nearest  to  us  at  about 
800  feet  above  the  plain,  and  as  the  slopes  were  par- 
ti(;ularly  steep  we  judged  their  distance  to  be  between 
800  and  1000  yards  from  us. 

Much  to  our  pleasure  and  relief  the  path,  instead  of 
ascending  those  steejj  slopes,  skirled  their  base,  and 
turned  east,  y)un;uing  the  direction  we  wished  being 
now  ill,  Nortli  r.nt.  T  25'  ?A)".  A  valley  unfolded  to 
our  vi(iw  as  we  ]()un(h'(l  tlie  corner  of  tlie  Peak  Pange, 
with  a  bie;i(lth  of  one  to  two  miles  wide,  which  was 
clothe<l  with  hi\iiii;iiit  sorghum  ripening  for  the  sickle. 
(Jn  our  I'iglit,  lisiug  iinine(bately  above  us,  w^as  the  nortli 
sid(^  of  M.'izaniboiii's  iviiige  ;  to  our  left,  the  gi'ound, 
hiiMeii  liv  <ioj»s  of  gi'jiiii,  sloped  gr;idiialiy  to  a  rapid 
bi-.'iiieh  of  the  M;ist  ituri,  and  beyond  it  rose,  an 
easy     slope     to     a     l)road     hoi'se-shoe    shaped     grassy 


Undus- 
suma. 


MAZAMBONFS   PEAK  AND   NZERA    KUM.  800 

ridge,  studded  with  liomesteads,  green  with  millet  and     1887. 
corn,  and  rich  in  l)anana  groves.     One  sweeping  view  of    ^*"^'^ 
our  surroundings  impressed  us  with  the  prosperity  of  the 
tril)e. 

On  entering  this  rich  crop-bearing  valley  a  chorus  of 
war-cries  pealing  menacingly  above  our  heads  caused  us 
to  look  up.  The  groups  had  already  become  more 
numerous,  until  there  were  probably  300  warriors  with 
shield,  spear,  and  l)ow,  shaking  their  flashing  weapons, 
gesturing  w4th  shield  and  spear,  crying  w^rathfully  at  us 
in  some  language.  Waxing  more  ungovernal^le  in  action 
they  made  a  demonstration  to  descend ;  they  altered 
their  intentions,  returned  to  the  summit,  and  kept  pace 
with  us — we  along  the  base,  they  along  the  crest  of  the 
fore  hills,  snarling  and  yelling,  shouting  and  threatening, 
which  we  took  to  be  expressive  of  hate  to  us,  and 
encouragement  to  those  in  the  valley. 

Issuing  out  of  the  first  series  of  cornfields,  w^e  heard 
the  war-cries  of  the  valley  natives,  and  comprehended 
that  they  were  taking  position  in  favourable  localities — 
the  hill  natives  warnino;  and  o-uidins;  them.  It  w^as  now 
near  4  p.m.,  a  time  to  pick  out  camp,  to  make  ready  for 
the  night  in  the  midst  of  a  population  overwhelming  in 
its  numbers.  Fortunately,  close  at  hand  rose  the  steep 
hill  of  Nzera  Kum  w^ith  a  spur,  whose  level  top  rose  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  general  face  of  the  valley.  It 
stood  like  an  islet  in  the  valley,  distant  from  the  river 
500  yards,  and  from  the  base  of  Mazamboni's  range 
200  yards.  From  the  crest  of  Nzera  Kum  we  could 
command  a  view  east  and  west  of  all  the  northern  face 
of  the  high  range,  and  away  over  the  summit  lines  of 
the  horse-shoe  ridge,  across  the  Ituri  branch.  Fifty  rifles 
could  hold  a  camp  on  such  a  position  against  a  thousand. 
We  hurried  up  towards  it,  the  warriors  on  the  range 
slopes  converging  downward  as  if  divining  our  intentions  ; 
a  mass  of  noisy  belligerents  hastening  towards  the  line 
of  march  from  the  river  banks.  The  scouts  in  the 
advance  fired  a  few  solitary  shots  to  clear  the  front,  and 
w^e  succeeded  in  reaching  the  islet  hill  and  scrambled  up. 
The  loads  were  thrown  down,  a  few  picked  skirmishers 


Unilus- 
auma. 


310  IN   DAIiKKST  AFRICA. 

1887.  were  ordered  to  either  flank  of  tlie  coluinn  to  a.s.sist  the 
Dec.  8.  i-earguard,  others  were  directed  to  foriii  a  zerilta  around 
the  crown  of  the  spur ;  a  hody  of  thirty  men  was  sent 
to  secure  water  from  the  river.  In  half  an  hour  the 
column  was  safe  on  the  hill,  the  zeriba  was  near  com- 
pletion, there  was  water  for  the  thirsty,  and  we  had  a 
few  minutes  to  draw  breath  and  to  observe  from  our 
commandino;  elevation  what  w^ere  our  surroundinos. 
The  bird's-eye  view  was  not  a  bit  encouraging.  About 
fifty  villages  were  sprinkled  through  the  valley ;  plan- 
tation after  plantation,  field  after  field,  village  after 
village  met  our  vision  in  every  direction.  What  lay 
on  the  mountains  we  did  not  know.  The  swarms 
of  lusty-voiced  natives  on  the  slopes  now  numbered 
over  800.  The  air  seemed  filled  with  the  uproar  of  the 
shouts. 

The  mountaineers  appeared  disposed  to  try  conclusions 
at  once.  We  were  fatigued  with  the  march  of  13  miles ; 
the  hot  sun  and  weioht  of  burdens  had  weakened  the 

o 

physical  powers  of  the  men.  Some  of  the  best,  how- 
ever, were  picked  out  and  sent  to  meet  the  mountaineers, 
while  we  stood  and  watched  to  weigh  the  temper  of  our 
opponents.  Four  of  the  scouts  were  foremost.  An 
equal  number  of  the  mountaineers,  not  a  whit  loth  for 
the  encounter,  bounded  gallantly  to  meet  them.  They 
intuitively  felt  that  the  courage  of  our  four  men  was 
not  of  the  highest  order.  They  approached  to  within 
100  yards  of  them,  and  jirepared  their  bows  against  the 
I'iflcs.  ()ui'  men  delivered  their  fire  harmlessly,  and 
then  ]»ack('(l  ;  the  mountaineers  a(h'anccd,  with  fingers 
on  Ihcir  l»o\v-strings.  ( )ur  four  inen  fied,  while  a 
lumdi'cd  voices  from  our  canip,  looking  down  upon  the 
sccjie,  execrated  llieni.  This  was  a  bad  beginning  for 
oiii-  side.  ;  tlic,  natives  acce])lc(l  it  as  a  favourable  omen 
1o  thcni.  and  yclh'd  1  riumphaiitly.  To  clieck  this  glow, 
our  iillciiK'ii  soii'^lit  c()\ci-,  and  sci'iousl\"  annoyed  the 
iiat  i\cs.  Some  ;i(  (  he  cxI  iciiiil  \  of  the  hill  of  Nzera  Kum 
(lid  cxcciilHiii  amon'j  I  he  riK Ml ntaiiiecrs  on  \]w  slope  of 
Hie  laiiur  :)p|)(».-ilc,  al  lOO  yards  distance;  olhei's  crept 
down  into  ihc  vaNcy  towards  the  river,  and  obtained  a 


Uiidiis- 
iiiiina. 


"  yy/;  stjiono,  and  of  a  (iood  coiinAGK"       311 

triiimpli  J"i»i'  lis;  others,  ajjaiii,  workiiii;  round  tlic  base  1887. 
of  Nzera  Jviim,  cliected  a  diversion  in  our  i'avoiir.  8aat  ^'"^;  ^ 
Tato,  our  hunter,  carried  away  a  cow  from  her  owners, 
and  we  thus  obtained  a  taste  of  beef  after  eleven  months' 
abstinence.  As  night  fell,  natives  and  strangers  sought 
their  respective  quarters,  both  anticipating  a  busy  day 
on  the  morrow. 

Before  turning  in  for  the  night,  I  resumed  my  reading 
of  the  T3ible  as  usual.  I  had  already  read  the  book 
throuoli  from  beo;innino;  to  end  once,  and  was  now 
at  Deuteronomy  for  the  second  reading,  and  I  came 
unto  the  verse  wherein  Moses  exhorts  Joshua  in  those 
fine  lines,  "  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage  ;  fear  not, 
nor  be  afraid  of  them  :  for  the  Lord  thy  God,  He  it  is 
that  doth  go  with  thee ;  He  will  not  fail  thee,  nor 
forsake  thee." 

I  continued  my  reading,  and  at  the  end  of  the  chapter 
closed  the  book,  and  from  Moses  my  mind  travelled  at 
once  to  Mazamboni.  AVas  it  great  fatigue,  incipient 
ague,  or  an  admonitory  symptom  of  ailment,  or  a  shade 
of  spiteful  feeling  against  our  cowardly  four,  and  a 
vague  sense  of  distrust  that  at  some  critical  time  my 
loons  would  fly  ?  We  certainly  were  in  the  presence  of 
people  very  different  from  the  forest  natives.  In  the 
open  our  men  had  not  been  tested  as  they  were  to-day, 
and  what  my  officers  and  self  had  seen  of  them  was  not 
encouraging.  At  any  rate,  my  mind  was  occupied 
with  a  keener  sense  of  the  danger  incurred  by  us  in 
adventuring  with  such  a  small  force  of  cowardly  porters 
to  confront  the  tribes  of  the  grass  land  than  I  remember 
it  on  any  previous  occasion.  It  seemed  to  me  now  that 
I  had  a  more  thorough  grasp  of  what  might  be  expected. 
Whether  it  followed  a  larger  visual  A^iew  of  land  and 
population,  or  that  I  was  impressed  by  the  volume  of 
human  voices,  whose  uproar  yet  seemed  to  sound  in.  my 
ears,  I  know  not.  But  a  voice  appeared  to  say,  "  Be 
strons  and  of  a  good  courage  ;  fear  not,  nor  be  afraid 
of  them."  I  could  almost  have  sworn  I  heard  the  voice. 
I  began  to  argue  with  it.  Why  do  you  adjure  me  to 
abandon   the  Mission  ?    I  cannot  run   if   I   would.     To 


Undus- 
Buma. 


812  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  retreat  would  lie  far  more  fatarl  than  advance  ;  therefore 
Dec.  8.  yQ^p  encouragement  is  unnecessary.  It  replied,  never- 
theless, "  Be  strono;  and  of  a  o'ood  couraoe.  Advance, 
and  be  confident,  for  I  will  give  this  people  and  this 
land  unto  thee.  I  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee ; 
fear  not,  nor  be  dismayed." 

Still — all  this  in  strict  confidence — before  I  slept 
I  may  add  that  though  I  certainly  never  felt  fitter  for 
a  fight,  it  struck  me,  that  Ijoth  sides  were  remark- 
ably foolish,  and  about  to  engage  in  what  I  conceived  to 
be  an  unnecessary  contest.  We  did  not  know  even  the 
name  of  the  land  or  of  the  people,  and  they  were  equally 
ignorant  of  our  name  and  of  our  purpose  and  motives. 

I  sketched  out  my  plans  for  the  morrow,  adjured  the 
sentries  to  keep  strict  watch,  and  in  sleep  became  soon 
oblivious  of  this  Mazamboni — lord  Df  the  mountains 
and  plains. 

December  9th  was  a  halt.  In  the  morning  we  com- 
pleted our  thorn-bush  fence,  distributed  cartridges,  and 
examined  rifles.  By  9  o'clock  the  chill  of  early  day 
retired  Ijefore  the  warmth  of  a  hot  sun,  and  shortly  after 
the  natives  mustered  in  imposing  numbers.  War-horns, 
with  the  weird  notes  heard  in  Usoga  and  Uganda  in 
1875,  sounded  the  gathering,  and  over  twenty  drums 
])oomed  from  each  mountain  top.  There  were  shouts 
and  (lies  flying  in  currents  from  mountain  to  valley, 
and  back  again,  for  we  were  cpiite  surrounded.     About 

II  A.M.  some  few  natives  descended  close  enough  for 
one  Fetteh,  a  man  of  Unyoro,  to  distinguish  what  was 
said,  and  he  exchanged  a  hot  al)use  with  them,  until 
there  was  ((uitc  a  wordy  war.  Hearing  that  one  of  our 
people  undcislood  the  language,  I  directed  the  wrathful 
tongues  ill  llic  interests  of  peace,  and  a  more  amicable 
laiij'iiiii'c  resulted. 

"  We  on  our  side,"  was  said,  "  only  fight  in  defence. 
You  assail  us  while  cjuietly  ])assing  through  the  land. 
Would  it  not  be  belter  to  talk  1o  each  other,  and  try  to 
understand  one  another  lirst,  and  then,  if  we  cannot 
ugre(!,  light." 

"  True,  those  ai-e  wise  words,"  a  man  replied.      "'  Tell 


Undus- 
suiiia. 


FRIENDLY   INTERCOURSE    Wiril   NATIVES.  318 

US  who  you  are.     Where  you  are  from,  and  where  you     iss?. 
are  going."  ^''■^' 

"  We  are  of  Zanziljar,  from  the  sea,  and  our  chief  is  a 
white  man.      We  are  bound  for  the  Nyanza  of  Unyoro." 

"  If  you  have  a  white  man  with  you,  let  us  see  him, 
and  w^e  shall  believe  you." 

Lieutenant  Stairs  promptly  stepped  out  of  the  zeriba 
and  was  introduced  by  Fetteh. 

"  Now  you  tell  us  who  you  are,"  said  Fetteh.  "  What 
land  is  this  ?  Who  is  your  chief  ?  And  how  far  is  the 
Nyanza  ? " 

"  This  land  is  Undussuma,  the  chief  is  Mazaml)oni. 
We  are  Wazamboni.  The  Ruw^eru  (Nyanza)  is  reached 
in  two  days.  It  will  take  you  five  days.  It  lies  east. 
There  is  only  one  road,  and  you  cannot  miss  it." 

This  began  the  exchange  of  friendly  intercourse. 
Strangerhood  was  broken.  We  then  learned  that  there 
were  two  chiefs  in  Undussuma,  one  of  whom  would  not 
be  averse  to  peace,  and  exchange  of  friendly  gifts,  if  it 
were  agreeable  to  us.  We  gladly  assented,  and  several 
hours  were  passed  without  a  hostile  cry  being  heard,  or 
a  shot  fired,  except  at  the  river,  the  natives  on  whose 
shores  were  obstinate,  and  declined  listening  to  anything 
but  war  proposals. 

In  the  afternoon  a  message  came  from  Mazamboni 
saying  he  would  like  to  see  the  pattern  and  quality  of 
our  monies.  We  sent  two  yards  of  scarlet  uniform  cloth, 
and  a  dozen  brass  rods,  and  a  promise  was  given  that 
early  next  morning  the  chief  himself  w^ould  appear  and 
go  through  the  ceremony  of  brotlierhood  wdth  me. 

The  next  day  we  w^ere  refreshed  after  an  undisturbed 
night,  and  fondly  indulged  in  anticipations  that  in  a  few 
hours,  j)erhaps,  our  camp  w^ould  be  filled  Avith  friendly 
natives.  We  had  been  requested  not  to  depart  until  a 
return  gift  should  arrive  from  Mazamboni.  We  accord- 
ingly had  resolved  on  another  day's  halt.  The  morning 
was  still  raw  and  cold,  for  w^e  were  4,235  feet  above  the 
sea.  A  mist  covered  the  tall  mountain  tops,  and  a 
slight  drizzle  had  set  in,  which  excused  our  friends  from 
a  too  early  appearance  ;  but  at  the  third  hour  the  mist 


Und 
sunia. 


314  IN    DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  cleared  away,  and  the  outline  of  {\w  eiitue  range  was 
Dec.  10.  (^.i(..^^.  against  a  pale  blue  sky.  Lieutenant  Stairs,  Mr. 
Jephson,  and  myself,  were  out  at  the  extreme  w^est  end 
of  the  spur  enjoying  the  splendid  view,  admiring  the 
scenery,  and  wondering  when  such  a  beautiful  land 
would  become  the  homesteads  of  civilized  settlers. 
Stairs  thought  that  it  resembled  New  Zealand,  and  said 
that  he  would  not  mind  possessing  a  ranche  here.  He 
actually  w^nt  so  far  as  to  locate  it,  and  pointed  out  the 
most  desirable  spot.  "  On  that  little  hill  I  w^ould  build 
my  house  " — "  Shebang"  he  called  it.  I  wonder  if  that 
is  a  New  Zealand  term  for  a  villa — "  There  I  would  herd 
my  cattle ;  my  sheep  could  browse  on  the  mountain 
slope  behind,  and " 

But  meantime  the  natives  had  ajjpeared  on  the  crests 
of  the  mountain  in  lengthy  columns,  converging  towards 
a  common  centre — a  butt  end  of  a  truncated  hill — a 
thousand  yards  in  an  air  line  from  where  we  stood,  and 
a  voice  like  that  of  a  mol)  orator,  clear  and  harmonious, 
broke  on  our  ear.  It  proceeded  from  a  man  who,  with 
a  few  companions,  had  descended  to  about  300  feet 
above  tlie  valley.  He  was  ten  minutes  speaking,  and 
Fetteli  had  been  brought  to  listen  and  translate. 
Fetteli  said  that  he  commanded  peace  in  the  name  of 
the  king ;  but  strange  to  say,  no  sooner  had  the  man 
concluded  his  speech  than  loud,  responsive  yells  rose 
from  the  valley  in  a  hitleous  and  savage  clamour,  and 
then  from  every  mountain  top,  and  from  the  slopes 
there  was  a  re-echo  of  the  savage  outburst. 

We  surmised  that  such  forceful  yelling  could  not 
signal  a  peace,  ])ut  rather  war;  and  in  order  to  make 
sure,  sent  Fetteli  down  into  the  valley  below  the  speaker 
to  ask  hini.  The  r(*j)lies  fi-om  the  natives  left  us  no 
room  to  doubt.  The  two  sounds — Kanwana,  "peace," 
aiid  Kurwana,  "war,"were  so  siniilnr  lliat  they  had  occa- 
sioiKMJ  Fetteh's  eiroi-. 

"We  do  not  want  \(»iir  ri-iciidshi)),"  they  cried.  "We 
arc  coining  <h)\\  II  lo  \<)ii  slioiiK  lo  drive  voii  out  of 
your  camp  with  oni'  herdsmen's  staffs."  And  a 
treacherous  fellow,  who  liad  crawleil  undercover  of  low 


WE  DISPERSE    THE  NATIVES.  815 

])us]i,  came  near  causing  us  a  severe  loss — our  interpreter  isht. 
especially  having  an  exceedingly  narrow  escape.  Fetteh  ^®''-  ^'^ 
picked  up  the  arrows  and  brought  them  to  us,  and  s^xm^'. 
delivered  his  news. 

There  was  then  no  alternative  but  to  inflict  an  exem- 
plary lesson  upon  them ;  and  we  prepared  to  carry  it 
out  without  losing  a  moment  of  time,  and  with  the 
utmost  vigour,  unless  checked  by  profl"ers  of  amity. 

The  companies  were  mustered,  and  fifty  rifles  were  led 
out  by  Lieutenant  Stairs  towards  those  obstinate  and 
fierce  fellows  on  the  other  side  of  the  Ituri  branch.  A 
party  of  thirty  rifles  were  sent  under  Mr.  Jephson  to 
skirmish  up  the  slopes  to  the  left ;  and  twenty  picked  men 
were  sent  with  Ulecli  to  make  a  demonstration  to  the  right. 
Rashid  was  ordered  with  ten  men  to  the  top  of  Nzera- 
Kum  to  guard  against  surprise  from  that  cjuarter. 
Jephson  and  Uledi  would  be  marching  to  their  positions 
unobserved  by  the  mountaineers,  because  the  crowns  of 
the  forehills  would  obstruct  the  view,  and  would  ap- 
proach to  them  within  200  yards  without  being  seen, 
while  Lieutenant  Stairs'  company,  being  further  out  in 
the  valley,  would  absorb  their  attention. 

In  a  few  minutes  Stairs'  company  was  hotly  engaged. 
The  natives  received  our  men  with  cool  determination 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  shot  their  arrows  in  literal  showers  ; 
but  the  Lieutenant,  perceiving  that  their  coolness  rose 
from  the  knowledge  that  there  was  a  considerable  stream 
intervening  between  them  and  his  company,  cheered  his 
men  to  charge  across  the  river.  His  men  obeyed  him, 
and  as  they  ascended  the  opposite  bank  opened  a 
withering  fire  which  in  a  few  seconds  broke  up  the  nest 
of  refractory  and  turbulent  fellows  who  had  cried  out  so 
loudly  for  war.  The  village  was  taken  with  a  rush  and 
the  banana  plantations  scoured.  The  natives  broke  out 
into  the  open  on  a  run,  and  fled  far  northw^ard. 
Lieutenant  Stairs  then  collected  his  men,  set  fire  to  the 
village,  and  proceeded  to  the  assault  of  other  settlements, 
rattling  volleys  from  the  company  announcing  the 
resistance  they  met. 

Meanwhile,  Uledi's  party  of  chosen  men  had  discovered 


Undus 
sum  a 


316  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  a  pptli  leading  up  the  mountain  along  a  spur,  and  after 
Dec.  10.  ascending  500  feet,  led  his  men  up  into  view  on  the 
right  flank  of  the  mob  observing  and  cheering  their 
countrymen  in  the  valley.  The  Winchesters  were  worked 
most  handsomely.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Jephson's 
party  came  out  of  the  left  ravine,  and  together  they  had 
such  a  disastrous  effect  on  the  nerves  of  the  natives  that 
they  fled  furiously  up  the  slopes,  Uledi  and  his  men 
chasing  them. 

Mr.  Jephson,  after  seeing  them  in  full  flight, 
faced  eastward,  and  pushed  on  for  two  miles,  clearing 
every  inhabitant  out.  By  1  p.m.  all  our  men  were 
in  camp,  with  only  one  man  slightly  wounded.  Every 
man  had  behaved  wonderfully  well ;  even  the  four 
cowards,  who  had  been  marked  men,  had  distinguished 
themselves. 

At  2  P.M.,  the  natives  in  the  valley  having  returned, 
each  party  was  despatched  once  again.  Stairs  led  his 
men  across  the  Ituri  branch,  and  followed  the  running 
fugitives  far  northward,  then  veered  sharply  round  to 
join  Jephson,  who  had  continued  his  way  eastward. 
Uledi's  scouts  were  sent  up  to  the  very  summit  of 
the  mountain  range  ;  l)ut  on  observing  the  immense 
number  of  homesteads  that  dotted  it,  he  prudently 
halted. 

Until  the  afternoon  the  contest  continued  ;  the  natives 
were  constantly  on  tlie  run,  charging  or  retreating.  By 
evening  not  one  was  in  sioht,  and  the  silence  around 
our  camp  was  significant  of  the  day's  doings.  The 
inliabitants  were  on  the  mountains  or  far  removed  east- 
ward and  iioiiliward.  In  tlic  vallev  around  us  there 
was  not  a  liiit  loft  standing  t(»  ])v  a  rawv  during  the 
niglit.  The  lesson,  we  felt,  was  ]iot  coni})leted.  We 
slioiiM  li;i\c  to  return  l»y  tliat  I'outc.  In  tlie  natural 
course  of  tilings,  if  we  ind  ni;ni\-  liibcs  of  llic  (juality  of 
this,  W(^  should  lose  many  men,  and  if  wc  left  them  in 
the  least  doubt  of  oui'  ability  to  ])rot(M't  ourselves,  we 
should  li;i\c  to  rc|)c;it  our  day's  woi'k.  It  was,  therefore, 
far  nioi'c  nificifiil  in  jinisli  llic  .•iH'jiir  thoroughly  before 
leaving   a    lril»c    in    unwiiippcil    inscdence    in    our    rear. 


PEACE   AlillANGEl). 


817 


The  natives  must  have  entertained  an  idea  tliat  we 
could  not  fight  outside  our  hush  fence,  wliich  accounts 
for  their  tall  talk  of  driving  us  out  with  sti('ks,  and  that 
they  were  safe  on  the  mountains.  We  were  compelled 
to  root  out  the  idea  that  they  could  harm  us  in  any 
way. 

A  cow  neglected  by  her  owner  was  burnt  in  one  of 
the  villages  close  by,  and  furnished  us  with  a  second 
limited  ration  of  roast  beef 

On  the  11th  it  rained  again  during  the  early  morning, 
which    kept    us    indoors    until    10   A.M.      Some   natives 
having  then  come  out  to  demonstrate  their  hostility  on 
the  mountains,  Stairs,  JejDlison  and  Uledi 
led  their  men  up  the  mountain  slopes  in 
three  separate  small  columns  to  the  attack, 
and  made  a  successful   tour  among  their 
stronghold.      A   small  flcK'k   of  goats   was 
captured,  and  distributed  to  the  men,  and 
our  experiences  of  this  day  satisfied   the 
natives  that  they  had  nothing  to  gain  by 
fio'litino-. 

At  one  time  it  appeared  as  though  the 
day  would  end  with  reconciliation,  for  a 
native  stood  on  a  high  hill  above  our 
position  after  all  had  reached  camp,  and 
announced  that  he  had  been  sent  by 
Mazaml)oni  to  say  that  he  received  our 
gifts,  but  that  he  had  been  prevented  from 
visiting  us  according  to  promise  by  the 
clamour  of  his  young  men,  who  insisted  on  fighting. 
But  now,  as  many  of  them  had  been  killed,  he  was 
ready  to  pay  tribute,  and  be  a  true  friend  in  future. 

We  replied  that  we  were  agreeable  to  peace  and  friend- 
ship with  them,  but  as  they  had  mocked  us,  kept  our 
peace  presents,  and  then  scornfully  called  us  women, 
they  must  purchase  peace  with  cattle  or  goats,  and  if 
they  held  up  grass  in  their  hands  they  could  approacli 
without  fear. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  when  the  warriors  de^ 
scended  the  mountain   slopes  for  the  fight,  every  little 


1887. 
Dec.  li> 

Uniius- 
suma. 


SHIELD  OP  THE 
EDGE  OF  THE 
PLAINS. 


318 


7A'    DARKEST  AFFilCA. 


1887. 
Der.  11. 

Undus- 
suma. 


squad  of  men  was  accompanied  l)y  a  large  lioiuifl,  of 
somewhat  slender  l)iuld,  but  courageous,  and  })ronipt  to 
attack. 

The  arms  of  the  Wazamboni  consisted  of  long  bows 
five  and  a  half  feet  long,  and  arrows  twenty-eight 
inches  long,  besides  a  long  sharp  spear.  Their  shields 
were  long  and  na;iTow  generally,  but  there  were  many  of 
the  true  Uganda  type.  The  arrows  were  cruelly  barbed, 
and  the  spear  was  similar  to  that  of  Karagwe',  Uhha, 
Urundi,  and  Ihangiro. 


-« 


VTKW    OV    THK    SOrTir    KNJ)    dl'    AI.HK.HT    NYANZA.      (<S(-(;  p«r/(i  iJltf ,) 


Gavira 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ARRIVAL  AT  LAKE  ALBERT,  AND  OUR  RETURN  TO  IBWIRI. 

We  are  furtlier  annoyed  by  the  natives— Their  villages  fired — Gavira's 
village — We  keep  the  natives  at  bay — Platean  of  Unyoro  in  view — 
Night  attack  by  the  natives — The  village  of  Katonza's — Parley  witli 
the  natives — No  news  of  the  Pasha — Our  siipply  of  cartridges — "We 
consider  onr  position — Lieutenant  Stairs  converses  with  the  people 
of  Kasenya  Island — The  only  sensible  course  left  us — Again  attacked 
by  natives  —Scenery  on  the  lake's  shore — We  climb  a  mountain — A 
rich  discovery  of  grain — The  rich  valley  of  Undussuma — Our  return 
journey  to  Ibwiri — The  construction  of  Fort  Bodo. 

On  the  12th  December  we  left  camp  at  dawn  without  1887. 
disturbance,  or  hearing  a  single  voice,  and  up  to  9  a.m.  "*^'^'  ^^ 
it  did  not  appear  as  if  anybody  was  astir  throughout 
the  valley.  ( )ur  road  led  E.  by  S.  and  dipped  down  into 
ravines,  and  narrow  valleys,  down  which  its  tributaries 
from  the  mountain  range  and  its  many  gorges  flowed 
under  depths  of  jungle,  bush,  and  reed-cane.  Villages 
were  seen  nestling  amid  aljundance,  and  we  left  them 
unmolested  in  the  hope  that  the  wild  people  might  read 
that  w^ien  left  alone  w^e  were  an  extremely  inoffensive 
band  of  men.  But  at  nine  o'clock,  the  chill  of  the  morning 
having  disappeared,  w^e  heard  the  first  war-cries,  and  traced 
them  to  a  large  group  of  villages  that  crowned  a  detached 
line  of  hills  occupying  the  foreground  of  the  Undussuma 
range.  Perceiving  that  we  continued  our  march  without 
appearing  to  notice  them,  they  advanced  boldly  and 
hovered  on  our  right  flank  and  rear. 

By  11  A.M.  there  were  two  separate  bands  of  natives 
who  followed  us  very  persistently.  One  had  come  from 
the  eastward,  the  other  was  formed  out  of  the  population 
of  the  villages  in  the  valley  that  we  had  left  undamaged 
and  intact. 


Gavira. 


320  I^  DARKEST  AFBICA. 

1887.         By  noon  these  bands  had  increased  into  numerous  and 
^^'^^'   frantic  mobs,  and  some  of  them  cried  out,  "  We  will 
prove  to  you  before  night  that  we  are  men,  and  every 
one  of  you  shall  perish  to-day." 

At  this  hour,  refreshed  by  our  halt,  we  resumed  the 
march  through  a  grassy  wilderness.  There  were  no 
villages  in  view  on  either  hand,  l)ut  the  mobs  followed 
us,  now  and  then  making  demonstrations,  and  annoying 
us  with  their  harsh  cries  and  menaces.  An  expert  shot 
left  the  line  of  march,  and  ^^■<)unded  two  of  them  at  a 
range  of  400  yards.  This  silenced  them  for  awhile,  as 
though  they  w^ere  absorl)ed  in  wondering  what  missile 
could  inflict  injuries  at  such  a  distance.  But  soon  their 
numbers  received  fresh  accessions,  and  their  audacity 
became  more  marked.  The  rear-guard  band  presently 
were  heard  firing,  and  possibly  with  effect ;  at  any  rate 
it  was  clear  they  had  received  a  check. 

Finally,  at  3.30,  wc  came  in  view  of  the  Bavira  villages 
— the  chief  of  whom  is  called  Gavira — situated  on  an 
open  jDlain  and  occupying  both  l)anks  of  a  deep  and 
precipitous  ravine  hollowed  out  of  the  clay  by  a  con- 
siderable tributary  of  the  East  Ituri.  We  in  the  front 
halted  on  the  eastern  bank,  as  the  natives — too  tardy 
to  effect  anything — came  rushing  down  to  prevent  the 
crossing.  Loads  were  at  once  dropped,  skirmishers  were 
despatclied  from  the  advance  to  recross  the  river,  and  to 
assist  the  rear  guard,  and  a  smart  scene  of  battle-play 
occurred,  at  the  end  of  which  the  natives  retreated  on 
the  full  run.  To  punisli  them  for  four  hours'  persecution 
of  us  wc  turned  about  and  set  fire  to  every  hut  on  either 
bank,  then  reforming  wc  hastened  up  a  steep  hilly 
plateau,  tliat  I'osc  200  feci  ;il)ove  the  ])lain,  to  meet  the. 
natives  who  liad  ujitlicrcil  lo  o|)|)os(\  us.  Long,  however, 
before,  we  eouM  ic'iili  i  lie  .snniniil  lliey  al)andoned  their 
position  ;in<l  lell  iis  lo  (•(■(•ii|i\-  n  \ill;igo  in  peace.  It 
beint;-  iiou  ;i  l;ile  lioui-  wc  <';ini|)e(l,  and  our  first  duty  was 
to  reniler  mir  (|ii;ni('rs  sale  against  a  mglit  attack. 

Jt  should  l)e  ul»sei-\-e<|  ilial  u|)  lo  the  moment  of  firing 
the  villages.  Hie  fury  of  I  he  natives  seemed  to  be  in- 
creasing, but,  the  instaiil   I  he  (lanies  were  seen  devouring 


Gavira. 


GAVIRA'S    VILLAGE.  321 

their  homes  the  fury  ceased,  by  which  we  learned  that     tss?. 
tire  had  a  remarkal)le  sedative  influence  on  their  nerves.    ^^^"^  ^^• 

The  village  of  Gavira's,  wherein  we  slept  that  night, 
was  4,657  feet  above  the  sea.  It  had  been  a  fine  day 
for  travel,  and  a  S.E.  breeze  was  most  cooling.  Without 
it  we  should  have  suffered  from  the  great  heat.  As  the 
sun  set  it  became  very  cold  ;  by  midnight  the  tempera- 
ture was  60°.  We  had  travelled  nine  miles,  and  mostly 
all  complained  of  fatigue  from  the  marching  and  constant 
excitement. 

On  the  13th  w^e  set  oH'  easterly  a  little  after  dawn,  in 
order  that  we  might  cover  some  distance  before  the 
aborigines  ventured  out  into  the  cold  raw  air  of  the 
morning.  The  short  pasture  grass  was  beaded  with 
dew,  and  wet  as  with  rain.  The  rear  guard,  after  dis- 
arrangino;  our  nis;ht  defences  that  the  natives  mitjht  not 
understand  the  manner  of  them,  soon  overtook  us,  and 
we  left  the  district  in  compact  order  ready  for  fresh 
adventures.  Until  the  third  hour  of  the  morning  we 
were  permitted  to  travel  amid  scenes  of  peaceful  stillness. 
We  enjoyed  the  prospects,  had  time  to  note  the  features 
of  the  great  plain  north  of  East  Ituri,  and  to  admire  the 
multitude  of  hilly  cones  that  bounded  the  northern 
horizon,  to  observe  how  the  lines  of  conical  hills  massed 
themselves  into  a  solid  and  unbroken  front  to  the  east  and 
west ;  how  to  the  south  of  us  the  surface  of  the  land  was  a 
series  of  great  waves  every  hollow  of  which  had  its  own 
particular  stream  ;  and  how,  al)Out  five  miles  off,  the 
mountain  range  continued  from  Undussuma  East  to  the 
Balegga  country,  whose  summits  we  knew  so  well,  formed 
itself  into  baylike  curves  wherein  numerous  settlements 
found  water  and  sweet  grass  for  their  cattle  and  moisture 
for  their  millet  fields,  and  finally  prolonged  itself,  rounding 
northward  until  its  extremity  stood  east  of  us.  Hence 
we  observed  that  the  direction  we  travelled  would  take 
us  before  many  hours  between  the  northern  and  southern 
ranges,  to  the  top  of  a  saddle  that  appeared  to  connect 
them.  A  group  of  villages  situated  on  the  skyline  of 
this  saddle  was  our  objective  point  at  present,  until  we 
could  take  further  bearings  thence. 

VOL  I.  T 


322  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.         But   at   9  A.M.  the    natives   began  to  stir  and  look 
Dec.  13.   ^^i^ound.      Every  feature  of  the   wide    landscape  being 
Lake  Plain,  ^j^^^^  ^^^^  imm  mist  and  fog.     Our  long  serpent-like  line 
of  men  was  soon  detected  and   hailed   with  war-cries, 
uttered  with  splendid  force  of  lungs,  that  drew  hundreds 
of  hostile  eyes  burning  with  ferocity  and  hate  upon  us. 
Village  after  village  was  passed  by  us  untouched,  but 
this,  as  we  experienced  the  day  before,  they  did  not  place 
to  our  credit,  but  rather  debited  us  with  pusillanimity, 
all  reports  of  their  neighbours  notwithstanding.     We  felt 
it  in  our  veins  that  we  were  being  charged  with  weakness, 
A  crowd  of  fifty  natives  stood  aside,  300  yards  from  our 
path,  observant  of  our  conduct.      They  saw  us  defile 
through  their  settlements  with  kindly  regard  for  their 
property,  and  eyes  fixed  straight  before  us,  intent  on  our 
own  business  of  travel  only.      Far  from  accepting  this  as 
a  proof  that  there  was  some  virtue  in  us,  they  closed 
behind  the  column,  loudly  and  imperiously  summoned 
their  countrymen  to  gather  together  and  surround  us — a 
call  their  countrymen  appeared  only  too  willing  to  obey. 
As  soon  as  they  deemed  their  numbers  strong  enough  to 
take  the  offensive,  they  charged  on  the  rear  guard,  which 
act  was  instantly  responded  to  by  good  practice  with 
rifles. 

Every  half-hour  there  was  a  stream  at  the  bottom  of 
its  own  valley,  and  a  breadth  of  cane-brake  on  either 
side  of  the  brook,  which  required  great  caution  to  keep 
the  impulsive  natives  at  bay. 

'J'liat  group  of  villages  on  the  skyline  already  men- 
tioned, connecting  the  now  converging  lines  of  hills 
to  north  and  south  of  us,  became  more  and  more  dis- 
tinct as  we  steadily  pressed  on  eastward,  and  I  began 
tf)  feel  a  ])roscntiment  that  before  another  hour  was 
passed,  we  should  see  the  Albert  Nyanza.  But  as 
though  tlun-e  was  some  great  treasure  in  our  front,  or  as 
if  Emiii  ]*aslia  ;iiid  his  garrison  found  himself  in  the 
})osition  C)!"  (i()r<l()ii  diii'ing  his  last  hours  at  Khartoum, 
and  tlicso,  were  tlic  bclciiguci'ing  hosts,  the  natives  waxed 
holder  ;iiid  more,  dclcriiiiiicd,  increased  in  numbers 
iasLei-,  tlic   W.I r-(  lies   were  incessantly   vociferated   from 


WE  KEEP    THE  NATIVES  AT  BAY.  823 

every    eminence,    groups    of    men    became    mobs,    and     iss?, 
finally  we   became  conscious  that  a  supreme  effort  was   ^^^-  ^^• 
about  to  be  made  by  tliem.     We  cast  our  eyes  about  ^''*'^^''"°' 
and  saw  each  elevation  black  with  masses  of  men,  while 
the  broad  and  rolling  plain  showed  lines  of  figures,  like 
armies  of  ants  travelling  towards  us. 

At  11  A.M.  we  were  near  the  crest  of  the  last  ridere 

o 

intervening  between  us  and  the  saddle  wdiich  we  were 
aiming  for,  when  we  caught  a  view  of  a  small  army 
advancing  along  a  road,  which,  if  continued,  would 
soon  cross  our  track  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream 
that  issued  from  this  ridge.  The  attacking  point  I 
felt  sure  would  be  a  knoll  above  the  source  of  the 
stream.  The  advance  guard  was  about  a  hundred 
yards  from  it,  and  these  were  ordered  when  abreast 
of  the  knoll  to  wheel  sharply  to  the  right,  and  stack 
goods  on  its  summit,  and  the  word  w^as  passed  to 
close  files. 

As  we  arrived  at  the  summit  of  the  knoll,  the  head  of 
the  native  army,  streaming  thickly,  was  at  the  foot  of 
it  on  the  other  side,  and  without  an  instant's  hesitation 
both  sides  began  the  contest  simultaneously,  but  the 
rapid  fire  of  the  Winchesters  was  altogether  too  much 
for  them,  for,  great  as  was  the  power  of  the  united  voices, 
the  noise  of  the  Winchesters  deafened  and  confused 
them,  while  the  fierce  hissing  of  the  storm  of  bullets 
paralysed  the  bravest.  The  advance  guard  rushed  down 
the  slopes  towards  them,  and  in  a  few  seconds  the 
natives  turned  their  backs  and  bounded  away  wdth  the 
speed  of  antelopes.  Our  men  pursued  them  for  about  a 
mile,  but  returned  at  the  recall,  a  summons  they  obeyed 
with  the  precision  of  soldiers  at  a  review,  which  pleased 
me  more  even  than  the  gallantry  they  had  displayed. 
The  greatest  danger  in  reality  with  half-disciplined  men 
is  the  inclination  to  follow  the  chase,  without  regard  to 
the  design  the  enemy  may  have  in  view  by  sudden 
flight.  It  frequently  happens  that  the  retreat  is  eff"ected 
for  a  ruse,  and  is  often  practised  in  Uganda.  On  this 
occasion  forty  men  were  chasing  500,  while  1,500  natives 
at  least  were  certainly  surveying  the  field  on  a  hill  to 


824  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     the  right  of  us,  and  a  similar  number  was  posted  to  the 

Lake  am.  ^g.^jj^  ^yg  re-fomied  our  ranks,  and  marched  forward 
in  close  order  as  before,  but  at  12.30  halted  for  refresh- 
ments, with  a  pretty  wide  circle  around  us  now,  clear  of 
noisy  and  yelling  natives.  Our  noon  halt  permitted 
them  to  collect  "their  faculties,  but  though  they  w^ere 
undoubtedly  sobered  by  the  events  of  the  morning  they 
still  threatened  us  with  imposing  numbers  of  the  Balegga, 
Bavira,  and  Wabiassi  tribes. 

After  an  hour's  rest  the  line  of  march  was  resumed. 
We  found  an  exceedingly  well-trodden  path,  and  that  it 
was  appreciated  was  evident  from  the  rapid  and  elastic 
tread  of  the  column.  Within  fifteen  minutes  w^e  gained 
the  brow  of  the  saddle,  or  rather  plateau,  as  it  turned  out 
to  be,  and,  about  twenty-five  miles  away,  we  saw  a  dark 
blue  and  uniform  line  of  table-land,  lifted  up  into  the 
clouds  and  appearing  portentously  lofty.  The  men 
vented  a  murmur  of  discontented  surprise  at  the  sight 
of  it.  1  knew  it  was  Unyoro,  that  between  us  and  that 
great  and  blue  table-land  was  an  immense  and  deep  gulf, 
and  that  at  the  bottom  of  this  gulf  was  the  Albert.  For 
there  seemed  to  be  nothing  else  before  us,  neither  hill, 
ridge,  or  elevation,  but  that  distant  immense  dark  blue 
mass  ;  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  northern  and  southern 
ranges  dipped  down  steeply  as  it  were  into  a  gulf  or 
profoundly  deep  valley.  Our  people,  on  viewing  the 
plateau  of  Unyoi-o  in  the  distance,  cried  out  in  a  vexed 
niaiiiier  "  Mashallah  !  but  this  Nyanza  keeps  going 
tint  JK.'r  and  further  away  from  us  ;  "  but  I  cheered  them 
up  with,  "  Keep  your  eyes  open,  boys  !  You  may  see  the 
i\\;iiiza  any  minute  now,"  which  remark,  like  many 
others  tending  to  encourage  them,  was  received  with 
iri'unts  of  unbehef. 

l^)iit  every  sle|)  we  now  look  |)ro\ed  that  we  were 
!i|t|)roaching  an  iiiiiisii.illy  dec})  valhn',  or  the  Nyanza, 
for  higher  and  higher  rose  the  Unyoro  plateau  into  view, 
lower  an<l  h»wei'  (h'sceiKh'd  tlie  slopes  on  either  hand  of 
our  road,  until  al,  last  all  eyes  rested  on  a  grey  cloud,  or 
what  is  it,  mist  l"      Xay,  it  is  the  Nyanza  sleeping  in  the 


FIBST   VIEW  OF   THE  ALBERT  NYANZA.  32T 

haze,    for,    l(3okiiig    to    the    north-eastward  it   was   the     i887. 
colour  of  the  ocean.     The  men  gazed  upon  the  lake  fully   ^^^*  ^^' 
two  minutes  before  they  realised  that  what  they  looked   Ny^^^a. 
upon  was  water,  and  then  they  relieved  their  feelings 
witli  cheers  and  enthusiastic  shouts. 

We  continued  our  pace  a  few  minutes  longer,  until  we 
stood  on  the  verge  of  the  descent  from  the  plateau,  and 
near  a  small  village  perched  on  this  exposed  situation  we 
made  a  short  halt  to  take  bearings,  inspect  aneroids,  and 
reflect  a  little  upon  our  next  step. 

Though  the  people  were  shouting  and  dancing,  and 
thronging  around  me  with  congratulations  for  having 
"  hit  the  exact  spot  so  well,"  a  chill  came  over  me,  as 
I  thought  of  the  very  slight  chance  there  was,  in  such  a 
country  as  this,  of  finding  a  canoe  fit  to  navigate  the 
rough  waters  of  the  Albert.  With  my  glass  I  scruti- 
nized anxiously  the  distant  shore  of  the  Lake,  but  I 
could  not  see  any  canoe,  neither  could  I  see  a  single  tree 
in  all  the  long  stretch  of  slope  and  extended  plain  of  a 
size  suitable  for  a  canoe,  and  the  thought  that,  after  all, 
our  forced  march  and  continual  fighting  and  sacrifice  of 
life  would  be  in  vain,  struck  me  for  the  first  time,  even 
while  upon  every  man's  lips  was  the  pious  ejaculation, 
"  Thank  God." 

And  yet  it  was  just  possible  we  might  be  able  to  buy 
a  canoe  with  brass  rods  and  some  red  cloth.  It  would 
be  too  hard  if  our  long  travels  hither  were  to  be  quite  in 
vain. 

The  scene  I  looked  upon  was  very  diff'erent  to  what  I 
had  anticipated.  I  had  circumnavigated  the  Victoria 
Nyanza  and  the  Tanganika,  and  I  had  viewed  the  Muta 
Nzige  from  a  plaleau  somewhat  similar  to  this,  and 
canoes  were  procurable  on  either  Lake  ;  and  on  the  Victoria 
and  Tanoanika  it  would  not  be  difficult,  after  a  little 
search,  to  find  a  tree  large  enough  for  cuttmg  out  a 
canoe.  But  I  saw  here  about  twenty  miles  of  most 
barren  slopes,  rugged  with  great  rocks,  and  furrowed 
with  steep  ravines  and  watercourses,  whose  banks  showed 
a  thin  fringe  of  miserable  bush,  and  between  them  were 
steeply  descending  sharp  and  long  spurs,  either  covered 


328  -^2^  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  with  rocky  and  clayey  debris  or  tall  green  grass.  Be- 
^"^  ^'^"  tween  the  base  of  this  lengthy  fall  of  slope  and  the  Lake 
Nyanza.  was  a  plain  about  five  or  six  miles  in  breadth,  and  about 
twenty  miles  long,  most  pleasant  to  look  upon  from  the 
great  altitude  we  were  on.  It  resembled  a  well-wooded 
park  land,  but  the  trees  spread  out  their  branches 
too  broadly  to  possess  the  desirable  stems.  They 
appeared  to  me  to  be  more  like  acacia,  and  thorn- 
trees  and  scrub,  which  would  be  utterly  useless  for  our 
purpose. 

Our  aneroids  indicated  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet.  The 
islet  marked  on  Mason's  chart  as  near  Kavalli  bore  E.S.E., 
magnetic,  about  six  miles  from  our  position.  Laying 
Colonel  Mason's  chart  of  the  Albert  Nyanza  before  us,  we 
compared  it  with  what  was  spread  so  largely  and  grandly 
over  2,500  feet  below  us,  and  we  were  forced  to  bear 
witness  to  the  remarkable  accuracy  of  his  survey.  Here 
and  tliere  some  triflino;  islets  and  two  or  three  small  in- 
lets  of  the  Lake  into  that  singular  sunken  plain  which 
formed  the  boundary  of  the  Lake  as  its  southerly  extremity 
were  ol)served  as  omissions. 

I  had  often  wondered  at  Sir  Samuel  Baker's  descrip- 
tion of  the  Albert  Nyanza's  extension  towards  the  south- 
west, perhaps  oftcner  after  Colonel  Mason's  mysteriously 
l)rusque  way  of  circumscribing  its  "  illimitability,"  but  I 
can  feel  pure  sympathy  with  the  discoverer  now,  despite 
the  terri])le  "cutting  off"  to  which  it  has  been  subjected. 
For  the  effect  upon  all  of  us  could  not  have  been  greater 
if  the  Albert  stretched  to  Khartoum.  Whether  limited 
or  unlimited,  the  first  view  of  water  and  mountain  is 
noble,  and  even  inspiring.  Even  at  its  extremity  the 
Lake  has  a  spacious  breadth,  but  as  we  follow  the  lines 
of  its  mountain  banks  tlic  breadth  widens  grandly,  the 
silver  colour  of  its  shallow  head  soon  changes  into  the 
deep  azure  of  ocean,  the  continuing  expanding  breadth, 
immense  girdle  of  mountains  and  pale  sky,  lose  their 
outlines,  and  become  fused  into  an  indefinite  blueness  at 
the  sea-horizon  north-eastward,  through  wliich  we  may 
vainly  seek  a  liniil. 

Our  point  of  ol.sc nation  was  in  N.  Lut.  1°.  23'.00". 


IffATIVE  HOSTILITY  NEAR    THE  NYANZA.  329 

The  extreme  end  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  lake  bore  S.E.     1887. 
magnetic,  and  the  extreme  Avestern  end  bore  S.E.  and    ^^"^  ^^• 
S.E.  by  S.     Between  the  two  extremities  there  were  five    NyanL. 
inlets,  one  of  which  reached  two  miles  further  south  than 
any  of  those  observed  points. 

The  table-land  of  Unyoro  maintained  an  almost  uniform 
level  as  far  as  we  could  see,  its  terminable  point  being 
cut  oft'  from  view  by  a  large  shoulder  of  mountain,  that 
thrust  itself  forward  from  the  western  range.  South- 
ward of  the  lake  and  between  these  opposing  heights — 
that  of  the  table-land  of  Unyoro  on  the  east,  and  that  of 
the  table-land  on  the  west — extended  a  low  plain  which 
formerly,  but  not  recently,  must  have  been  inundated 
by  the  waters  of  the  lake,  but  now  was  dry  firm  ground, 
clothed  with  sere  grass,  gently  rising  as  it  receded  south, 
and  finally  producing  scrubby  wood,  acacia  and  thorn, 
like  the  terrace  directly  below  us. 

After  a  halt  of  aliout  twenty  minutes,  we  commenced 
the  descent  down  the  slopes  of  the  range.  Before  the 
rearguard  under  Lieutenant  Stairs  had  left  the  spot,  the 
natives  had  gathered  in  numbers  ecjual  to  our  own,  and 
before  the  advance  had  descended  500  feet,  they  had 
begun  to  arinov  the  rearguard  in  a  manner  that  soon 
provoked  a  steady  firing.  We  below  could  see  them 
spread  out  like  skirmishers  on  both  flanks,  and  hanging 
to  the  rear  in  a  long  line  up  the  terril)ly  steep  and 
galling  path. 

While  they  shot  their  arrows,  and  crept  nearer  to 
their  intended  victims,  they  cried,  "  Ku-la-la  heh  lelo?" 
— "Where  will  you  sleep  to-night?  Don't  you  know 
you  are  surrounded  ?  We  have  you  now  where  we 
wanted  you." 

Our  men  were  not  a  whit  slow  in  replying,  "  Wherever 
we  sleep,  you  will  not  dare  come  near  ;  and  if  you  have 
got  us  where  you  wanted  us  to  be,  why  not  come  on  at 
once  ? " 

Though  the  firing  w^as  brisk,  there  was  but  little  hurt 
done  ;  the  ground  was  adverse  to  steadiness,  and  on 
our  side  only  one  was  wounded  with  an  arrow,  but  the 
combat  kept  both  sides  lively  and  active.     Had  we  been 


330  IN  DARKEST  AFBIOA. 

1887.     unburdened  and  fresh,  very  few  of  these  pestilent  fellows 

r^ec.  13.   -^YQ^i^j  have  lived  to  climb  that  mountain  again. 

Nyanza.        The  descent  was  continued  for  three  hours,  halting 

every  fifteen  minutes  to  repel  the  natives,  who,  to  the 

number  of  forty,  or  thereabouts,  follow^ed  us  down  to 

the  plain. 

Half  a  mile  from  the  base  of  the  mountain  we  crossed 
a  slightly  saline  stream,  which  had  hollowed  a  deep 
channel,  banked  by  precipitous  and  in  some  places  per- 
pendicular walls  of  del)ris  50  feet  high,  on  either  side. 
On  the  edge  of  one  of  these  latter  walls  we  formed  a 
camp,  the  half  of  a  circle  being  thus  unassailable  ;  the 
other  half  we  soon  made  secure  with  brushwood  and 
material  from  an  abandoned  village  close  by.  Having 
observed  that  the  darino'  natives  had  descended  into  the 
plain,  and  knowing  their  object  to  be  a  night  attack,  a 
chain  of  sentries  were  posted  at  a  distance  from  the 
camp,  who  were  well  hidden  by  the  grass.  An  hour 
after  dark  the  attack  was  made  by  the  band  of  natives, 
who,  trying  one  point  after  another,  were  exceedingly 
surprised  to  receive  a  fusilade  from  one  end  of  the  half 
cir(;le  to  the  other. 

This  ended  a  troublous  day,  and  the  rest  we  now 
sought  was  well  earned. 

Inspecting  the  aneroid  on  reaching  the  camping- 
place,  we  discovered  that  we  had  made  a  descent  of 
2,250  feet  since  we  had  left  our  post  of  observation  on 
the  verge  of  tlie  plateau  above. 

On  the  14tli  w^e  left  the  base  of  the  plateau,  and 
marcliod  across  tlic  \)\im\  that  gently  sloped  for  5  miles 
to  the  lake.  As  we  travelled  on,  we  examined  closely 
if  among  the  thin  forest  of  acacia  any  tree  would  likely 
be  availa])l(;  for  a  canoe  ;  Init  the  ])lain  was  destitute  of 
all  but  acacia,  thorn-bush,  tamarind,  and  scrub — a  proof 
that  the  soil,  thougli  sufficiently  rich  for  the  hardier 
trees,  had  enough  acrid  properties — nitre,  alkali,  or 
salts — to  prevent  the  growth  of  tropic-al  vegetation. 
We,  however,  trusted  that  we  should  be  enabled  to 
induce  tlie  nalivos  to  ])art  with  a  canoe,  or,  as  was  more 
lik(!]y,  prol)al>Iy  iMiiin  Pasha  had  visited  the  south  end 


AN   UNWOMANLY    VIRAGO.  331 

of  the  lake,  according  to    my  request,  and  had  made     i887. 
arrangements  with  the   natives  for  our    reception.     If   ^''^■'  ^*- 
not,  why  ultimately  perhaps  we  should  have  legitimate    ifyanzl 
excuse  for  taking  a  temporary  loan  of  a  canoe. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  lake  we  heard  some 
natives  cutting  fuel  in  a  scrubby  wood,  not  far  from  the 
road.  We  halted,  and  maintained  silence  while  the 
interpreter  attempted  to  obtain  a  reply  to  his  friendly 
hail.  For  ten  minutes  we  remained  perfectly  still, 
waiting  until  the  person,  who  proved  to  be  a  woman, 
deigned  to  answer.  Then,  for  the  first  time  in  Africa, 
I  heard  as  gross  and  obscene  abuse  as  the  traditional 
fish  woman  of  Billingsgate  is  supposed  to  be  capable  of 
utterino;'.  We  were  oblio-ed  to  desist  from  the  task  of 
conciliating  such  an  unwomanly  virago. 

We  sent  the  interpreter  ahead  with  a  few  men  to  the 
village  at  the  lake  side,  which  belonged  to  a  chief  called 
Katonza,  and  sometimes  Kaiya  Nkondo,  with  instruc- 
tions to  employ  the  utmost  art  possible  to  gain  the 
confidence  of  the  inhabitants,  and  by  no  means  to  admit 
rebuff  by  words  or  threats,  hostile  action  only  to  be 
accepted  as  an  excuse  for  withdrawal.  We,  in  the 
meantime,  were  to  follow  slowly,  and  then  halt  until 
summoned,  close  to  the  settlement. 

The  villagers  were  discovered  totally  unconscious  of 
our  approach  and  neighbourhood.  Their  first  impulse, 
on  seeing  our  men,  was  to  fly ;  but,  observing  that  they 
were  not  pursued,  they  took  position  on  an  anthill  at 
an  arrow-flight's  distance,  more  out  of  curiosity  than 
goodwill.  Perceiving  that  our  men  were  obliging, 
polite,  and  altogether  harmless,  they  sanctioned  the 
approach  of  the  caravan,  and  on  seeing  a  white  man 
they  were  induced  to  advance  near,  while  assurances  of 
friendliness  were  being  assiduously  reiterated.  About 
forty  natives  mustered  courage  to  draw  near  for  easy 
parley,  and  then  harangues  and  counter-harangues,  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  one  party  vowing  by  their  lives, 
by  the  love  of  their  throats,  by  the  blue  sky  above,  that 
no  harm  was  intended  or  evil  meditated — that  only 
friendship  and  goodwill  were  sought,  for  which  due  gifts 


332  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  would  be  given,  the  other  averring  that  though  their 
Dec.  14.  hesitation  might  be  misjudged,  and  possibly  attributed 
Nyanza.  ^o  fear,  stiU  they  had  met — often  met — a  people  called 
the  Wara-Sura,  armed  with  guns  like  ours,  who  simply 
killed  people.  Perhaps,  after  all,  we  were  Wara-Sura, 
or  their  friends,  for  we  had  guns  also,  in  which  case 
tliey  were  quite  ready  to  fight  the  instant  they  were 
assured  we  were  Wara-Sura  or  their  allies. 

"  Wara-Sura  !  Wara-Sura  !  What  men  are  these  ? 
We  never  lieard  of  the  name  before.  Whence  are 
they  ?  "  &c. ,  &c. ,  and  so  on  unceasingly  for  three  mortal 
hours  in  the  hot  sun.  Our  cajolings  and  our  winsomest 
smiles  began  to  appear  of  effect,  but  they  suddenly 
assumed  moodiness,  and  expressed  their  suspicion  in  the 
harsh,  rasping  language  of  Unyoro,  which  grated  horribly 
on  the  hearing.  In  the  end  our  effort  was  a  complete 
failure.  We  had,  unknown  to  ourselves,  incurred  their 
suspicion  by  speaking  too  kindly  of  Unyoro  and  of 
Kal)ba  Rega,  who,  we  found  later,  was  their  mortal 
enemy.  They  would  not  accept  our  friendship,  nor 
make  blood-brotherhood,  nor  accept  even  a  gift.  They 
would  give  us  water  to  drink,  and  they  would  show  the 
path  along  the  lake. 

"  You  seek  a  white  man,  you  say.  We  hear  there  is 
one  at  Kabba  Rega's  (Casati).  Many,  many  years  ago  a 
white  man  came  from  the  north  in  a  smoke-boat  (Mason 
Bey),  but  he  went  away,  but  that  was  when  we  were 
children.  There  has  been  no  strange  boat  on  our  waters 
since.  We  hear  of  strange  people  being  at  Buswa 
(Mswa),  but  tliat  is  a  long  way  from  here.  There  north- 
ward along  tlic  lake  lies  your  way.  All  the  wicked 
people  come  from  there.  We  never  heard  any  good 
of  men  who  came  in  from  the  Ituri  cither.  The  Wara 
Sura  sometimes  come  from  there." 

They  condescended  to  show  us  the  path  leading  along 
the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  then  stood  aside  on  the  })lain, 
bidding  us,  in  not  uniVieiidly  tones,  to  take  heed  of  our- 
selves, but  not  a  single  article  for  their  service  would 
they  accept.  Wondering  at  their  extraordinary  manner, 
and  without  a  singh;  legitimate  excuse  to  tjuarrel  with 


THE  MYSTERY  ABOUT  THE  PASHA.  338 

tliem,  we  proceeded  on  our  way  meditatively,  with  most     iss?. 
unhappy  feelings.  ^^'^-  ^^■ 

Pondering  upon  tlie  strange  dead  stop  to  that  hopeful-  Nyanzl. 
ness  which  had  hitherto  animated  us,  it  struck  us  that  a 
more  heartless  outlook  never  confronted  an  explorer  in 
wild  Africa  than  that  which  was  now  so  abruptly  revealed 
to  us.  From  the  date  of  leaving  England,  January  21, 
1887,  to  this  date  of  14th  December,  it  never  dawned  on 
us  that  at  the  very  goal  we  might  be  baffled  so  com- 
pletely as  we  were  now.  There  was  only  one  comfort, 
however,  in  all  this  ;  there  was  henceforward  no  incerti- 
tude. We  had  hoped  to  have  met  news  of  the  Pasha  here. 
A  governor  of  a  province,  with  two  steamers,  life-boats, 
and  canoes,  and  thousands  of  people  we  had  imagined 
would  have  been  known  everywhere  on  such  a  small  lake 
as  the  Albert,  which  required  only  two  days'  steaming  from 
end  to  end.  He  could  not,  or  he  would  not,  leave  Wadelai, 
or  he  knew  nothing  yet  of  our  coming.*  When  compelled 
through  excess  of  weakness  to  leave  our  steel  boat  at 
Ipoto,  we  had  hoped  one  of  three  things  :  either  that  the 
Pasha,  warned  by  mc  of  my  coming,  would  have  pre- 
pared the  natives  for  our  appearance,  or  that  we  could 
purchase  or  make  a  canoe  of  our  own.  The  Pasha  had 
never  visited  the  south  end  of  the  lake ;  there  was  no 
canoe  to  be  obtained,  nor  was  there  any  tree  out  of 
which  one  could  be  made. 

Since  we  had  entered  the  grass  land  we  had  expended 
five  cases  of  cartridges.  There  remained  forty-seven 
cases  with  us,  besides  those  at  Ipoto  in  charge  of  Captain 
Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke.  Wadelai  was  distant  twenty- 
five  days'  journey  by  land,  though  it  was  only  four  by 
lake.  If  we  travelled  northward  by  land,  it  was  most 
likely  we  should  expend  twenty-five  cases  in  fighting  to 
reach  Wadelai,  assuming  that  the  tribes  were  similar  to 
those  in  the  south.  On  reachino;  Emin  Pasha  we  should 
then  have  only  twenty-two  left.     If  we  then  left  twelve 

*  In  November,  1887,  Emin  Pasha  wrote  to  his  friend  Dr.  Felkin:  "All 
well ;  on  best  terms  with  chiefs  and  people ;  will  be  leaving  shortly  for 
Kibiro,  on  east  coast  of  Lake  Albert.  Have  sent  reconnoitering  party  to 
look  out  for  Stanley,  which  had  to  return  with  no  news  yet.  Stanley 
expected  about  December  15th  (1887)."     "We  arrived  on  the  14th. 


834  IN  DAEKE8T  AFEICA. 

1887.  cases  only  with  him,  we  should  have  only  ten  to  return 
Dec.  14.  ]^^^  ^  route  upon  which  we  had  fired  thirty  cases.  Ten 
Nyanza.  cascs  would  bc  quitc  as  an  inadequate  supply  for  us  as 
twelve  would  be  for  Emin.  This  was  a  mental  review 
of  our  position  as  we  trudged  northward  along  the  shore 
of  the  Albert.  But  hoping  that  at  Kasenya  Island,  to 
which  we  were  wendino;,  we  mio^ht  be  able  to  obtain  a 
canoe,  I  resolved  upon  nothing  except  to  search  for  a 
vessel  of  some  kind  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  failing 
that,  discuss  the  question  frankly  with  my  companions. 

At  our  noon  halt,  a  few  miles  north  of  Katonza's,  the 
first  note  of  retreat  was  sounded.  The  officers  were 
both  shocked  and  s;rieved. 

"  Ah,  gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  do  not  look  so.  You  will 
make  my  own  regrets  greater.  Let  us  look  the  facts 
fairly  in  the  face.  If  the  island  of  Kasenya  has  no  canoe 
to  give  us,  we  must  retrace  our  tracks  ;  there  is  no  help 
for  it.  We  w^ill  devote  to-day  and  to-morrow  to  the 
search,  but  we  are  then  face  to  face  with  starvation  if  we 
linger  longer  in  this  deserted  plain.  There  is  no  culti- 
vation on  this  acrid  lake  terrace,  nothing  nearer  than 
the  plateau.  Our  principal  hope  was  in  Emin  Pasha.  I 
thought  that  he  could  make  a  short  visit  in  his  steamers 
to  this  end  of  the  lake,  and  would  tell  the  natives  that  he 
expected  friends  to  come  from  the  west.  What  has 
become  of  him,  or  why  he  could  not  reach  here,  we 
cannot  say.  But  Katonza's  villagers  told  us  that  they 
had  never  seen  a  steamer  or  a  white  man  since  Mason 
Bey  was  here.  Tliey  have  heard  that  Casati  is  in 
Unyoro.  Without  a  boat  it  means  a  month's  journey 
to  us  to  find  ])im." 

"  1'liere  is  but  one  way  besides  retreating  that  appears 
feasible  to  me,  and  that  is  by  seizing  upon  some  village 
on  the  lake  slion^,  and  build  an  entrenched  camp,  and 
wait  events — say,  for  the  news  to  reach  Unyoro,  or 
Wadelai,  or  Kabba  Kega  ;  and  Casati,  Emin,  or  the 
Unyoro  king  may  Iteeonie  eui'ious  enough  to  send  to 
disf^ovcr  who  we  ai-e.  P)nt  thei-e  is  tlie  food  question. 
These  lake  villagers  do  not  cultivate.  They  catch  fish 
and    make   sail   lo  sell  to  the  people  on    the  plateau  for 


INEXPLIQABLE  ABSENCE   OF  EMIN.  335 

grain.       We   should    have    to    forage,    ascending    and     1887. 
des(;ending  daily  that  dreadful  mountain  slope.     For  a   ^''''-  ''*" 
week  or  so  the  natives  of  the  plateau  might  resist  every   ^yanza. 
foraging    party,    hut    finally    surrender,    and    emigrate 
elsewhere  to  distant  parts,  leaving  a  naked  land  in  our 
possession.     You  must  admit  that  this  would  be  a  most 
unwise  and  foolish  plan." 

"  Were  our  Loat  here,  or  could  a  canoe  be  procurable 
by  any  means,  our  position  would  be  thus  : — We  could 
launch  and  man  her  with  twenty  men,  supply  them  with 
ten  or  twelve  days'  provisions  and  an  otticer,  and  bid 
the  crew  '  God  speed,'  while  we  could  re-ascend  to  the 
plateau,  seize  upon  a  good  position  near  the  edge  of  the 
plateau,  render  it  quickly  unassailable,  and  forage  north, 
south,  and  west  in  a  land  abounding  with  grain  and 
cattle,  and  keep  sentries  observing  the  lake  and  watching 
for  the  signal  of  fire  or  smoke.  On  her  arrival,  a  hundred 
rilies  could  descend  to  the  lake  to  learn  the  news  of 
Emin  Pasha's  safety,  or  perhaps  of  his  departure,  via 
Ukedi  and  Usoga,  to  Zanzibar.  The  last  is  probable, 
because  the  latest  news  that  I  received  from  the 
Foreign  Office  showed  that  he  meditated  taking  such 
a  step.  But  now,  as  we  are  without  canoe  or  boat,  I 
feel,  though  we  are  but  four  days  by  water  from 
Wadelai,  that  we  are  only  wasting  valuable  time  in 
searching  for  expedients,  when  common-sense  bids  us 
be  off  to  the  forest,  find  some  suitable  spot  like  Ibwiri 
to  leave  our  surplus  stores,  sick  men,  and  convalescents 
from  Ugarrowwa  and  Ipoto,  and  return  here  again  with 
our  boat  and  a  few  dozen  cases  of  ammunitiov\  In 
this  inexplicable  absence  of  Emin,  or  any  news  of  him, 
we  should  be  unwise  in  wasting  our  strength,  carrying 
the  too  great  surplus  of  ammunition,  when  perhaps  the 
Pasha  has  departed  from  his  province." 

During  our  afternoon  march  we  travelled  along  the 
lake  until  the  island  of  Kasenya  bore  from  our 
camping-place  127°  magnetic,  or  about  a  mile  distant, 
and  our  observation  point  on  the  summit  of  the  plateau 
bore  289°. 

We  made  a  bush  fence,  and  lialted  at  an  early  hour. 


336  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.     The    afternoon  was    likewise    spent  in  considering  our 
,7h^.'    position  more  fully  under  the  new  light  thrown  upon 
Nyania.    it  by  the  determined  refusal  of  Katonza  and  his  followers 
to  entertain  our  friendship. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  December  I  sent 
Lieutenant  Stairs  and  forty  men  to  speak  with  the 
people  of  Kasenya  Island,  which  is  about  800  yards 
from  the  shore.  As  the  lake  is  very  shallow,  the 
canoe  with  two  fishermen  which  Lieutenant  Stairs  hailed 
could  not  approach  the  shore  to  witliin  several  hundred 
yards.  The  mud  was  of  unfathomed  depth,  and  none 
dared  to  put  a  foot  into  it.  Along  the  water's  edge  the 
singular  wood  ambatch  thrives,  and  continues  its  narrow 
fringe  around  the  southern  extremity  of  the  lake,  re- 
sembling from  a  distance  an  extensive  range  of  fisher- 
men's stakes  or  a  tall  joalisade.  The  fishermen  pointed 
out  a  locality  further  up  the  lake  where  they  could 
approach  nearer,  and  which  was  their  landing-place,  the 
distance  they  were  then  at  barely  allowing  the  sounds  of 
the  voice  to  be  heard.  We  spent  the  morning  awaiting 
Lieutenant  Stairs,  who  had  considerable  difficulty  with 
the  mud  and  swamps.  Li  the  afternoon  I  sent  Mr. 
Jephson  and  forty  men  to  the  landing-place  indicated 
by  the  natives,  which  was  a  low  bluff  wooded  at  the 
summit,  with  depth  of  water  sufficient  for  all  practical 
purposes.  In  reply  to  a  hail  a  fisherman  and  his  wife 
came  to  witliin  a  good  bow-shot  from  the  shore,  and 
deigned  to  converse  with  our  party.     They  said — 

"  Yes,  we  remember  a  smoke-boat  came  here  a  long 
time  ago.  There  was  a  white  man  (Colonel  Mason)  in 
her,  and  he  talked  quite  friendly.  He  shot  a  hippo- 
potamus for  us,  and  gave  it  to  us  to  eat.  The  bones  lie 
close  to  wlierc  you  stand,  Avhich  }'ou  may  see  for 
yourselves.  There  are  no  large  canoes  on  this  lake  or 
anywhere  about  here,  for  the  biggest  will  but  hold  two 
or  \\\yvv,  ])('()plc  witli  safety,  and  no  more.  We  buy  our 
canoes  fioiii  llic  W'.iiiyoi'o  on  tlie  other  side  for  fish  and 
salt.  Will  we  eaiTy  a  letter  for  you  to  Unyoro?  No 
(witli  a  laiigli).  No,  W(!  could  not  think  of  such  a 
thing;   tluit.  is  a  work  for  a  chief  and   a  great  man,  and 


EXTRAORDINARY  FISHERMEN.  337 

we  are  poor  people,  no  l)etter  than  slaves.  Will  we  sell  i887. 
a  canoe  ?  A  little  canoe  like  this  will  carry  you  ^'''''  ^^' 
nowhere.  It  is  only  fit  for  fishing  close  to  shore  in  NyanL. 
shallow  waters  like  these.  Which  way  did  you  come 
here  ?  By  the  way  of  the  Ituri  ?  Ah  !  that  proves  you 
to  be  wicked  people.  Who  ever  heard  of  good  people 
coming  from  that  direction  ?  If  you  were  not  wicked 
people  you  would  have  brought  a  big  boat  with  you, 
like  tne  other  white  man,  and  shoot  hippos  like  him.  Go 
your  ways — yonder  lies  your  road ;  but  as  you  go  you 
will  meet  with  people  as  bad  as  yourselves,  whose  work 
is  to  kill  people.  There  is  no  food  close  to  this  lake  or 
in  all  this  plain.  Fishermen  like  we  have  no  need  of 
hoes.  Look  around  everywhere  and  you  will  not  find  a 
field.  You  will  have  to  go  back  to  the  mountains  where 
there  is  food  for  you ;  there  is  nothing  here.  Our 
business  is  to  make  salt  and  catch  fish,  which  we  take 
to  the  people  above,  and  exchange  for  grain  and  beans. 
This  island  is  Kasenya,  and  belongs  to  Kavalli,  and  the 
next  place  is  Nyamsassi.  Go  on.  Why  do  you  not  go 
on  and  try  your  luck  elsewhere  ?  The  first  white  man 
stopped  in  these  waters  one  night  in  his  boat,  and  the 
next  morning  he  went  on  his  way,  and  since  then  we 
have  not  seen  him  or  any  other." 

Go  !  The  inevitable  closed  around  us  to  fulfil  the 
law  that  nothing  worth  striving  for  can  be  obtained  but 
by  pain  and  patience.  Look  where  we  might,  a  way  to 
advance  was  denied  to  us,  except  by  fighting,  killing, 
destroying,  consuming  and  being  consumed.  For 
Unyoro  we  had  no  money,  or  goods  fit  for  Eabba  Rega. 
Marching  to  AVadelai  would  only  be  a  useless  waste  of 
ammunition,  and  its  want  of  it  would  probably  prevent 
our  return,  and  so  reduce  us  to  the  same  helplessness 
as  Emin  Pasha  was  reported  to  be  in.  If  we  cast  our 
eyes  lakewards  we  became  conscious  that  we  were  bipeds 
requiring  something  floatable  to  bear  us  over  the  water. 
All  roads  except  that  by  which  we  came  were  closed,  and 
in  the  meantime  our  provisions  were  exhausted. 

At  the  evening's  council  we  resolved  to  adopt  the 
only  sensible  course  left  us — that  is,  to  return  to  Ibwiri, 

VOL  I.  W 


838  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887.  eighteen  days'  journey  from  here,  and  there  build  a 
Dec.  15.  c-trong  stockade,  then  to  send  a  strong  party  to  Ipoto 
Nyanza.  to  bring  up  the  boat,  goods,  officers,  and  convalescents 
to  our  stockade,  and  after  leaving  fifty  rifles  there  under 
three  or  four  officers,  hurry  on  to  Ugarrowwa's  settle- 
ment, and  send  the  convalescents  from  there  back  to 
Ibwiri,  and  afterwards  continue  our  journey  in  search  of 
the  Major  and  the  rear  column  before  he  and  it  was  a 
wreck,  or  marched  into  that  wilderness  whence  we  so 
narrowly  escaped,  and  then,  all  united  again,  march  on 
to  this  place  with  the  boat,  and  finish  the  mission 
thoroughly,  with  no  anxieties  in  the  rear  bewildering  or 
enfeebling  us. 

The  following  day,  December  16th,  a  severe  rainstorm 
detained  us  in  camp  until  9  a.m.  The  low  hard  plain 
absorbed  the  water  but  slowly,  and  for  the  first  hour  we 
tramped  through  water  up  to  the  knee  in  some  places. 
We  then  emerged  on  a  gently  rolling  plain,  where  the 
grass  was  but  three  inches  high,  with  clumps  of  bush 
and  low  trees  a  few  score  of  yards  apart,  making  the 
whole  scene  resemble  an  ornamental  park.  Arriving  at 
the  path  connecting  the  landing-place  of  Kasenya  with 
the  mountain  pass  by  which  we  descended,  we  crossed 
it,  keeping  parallel  to  the  lake  shore,  and  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  it.  Presently  herds  of  game  appeared, 
and,  as  our  people  were  exceedingly  short  of  provisions, 
we  prepared  to  do  our  best  to  obtain  a  supply  of  meat. 
After  some  troul)le  a  male  kudu  fell  to  my  share, 
and  Saat  Tato,  the  hunter,  dropped  a  hartebeest. 
Two  miles  beyond  the  landing-place  of  Kasenya  we 
halted. 

Our  ()l)jcct  in  halting  lierc  was  to  blind  the  natives  of 
Katonza's,  who,  we  felt  sure,  would  follow  us  to  see  if 
we  had  moved  on,  for  natui-ally,  having  behaved  so 
unruly  to  us,  they  might  well  entertain  fears,  or  at  least^ 
anxiety,  respecting  us.  At  night  we  proposed  to  retrace 
our  steps,  and  follow  the  road  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain pass,  and  before  dawn  (commence  the  steep  and 
stony  ascent,  and  be  at  the  summit  before  the  natives 
of  the  table-land   above   would  be  astir — as  a  struaffle 


Albert 
anza. 


TREACHEROUS  SAVAGES.  839 

with  such  determined  people,  heavily  loaded  as  we  were,     i887. 
was  to  be  avoided  if  possible.  ^^^^-  ^^ 

About  3  P.M.,  as  we  were  occupied  in  dividing  the  jfy 
game  among  the  hungry  people,  some  native  yells  were 
heard,  and  half  a  dozen  arrows  fell  into  the  halting- 
phice.  Nothing  can  give  a  betrer  idea  of  the  blind 
stupidity  or  utter  recklessness  of  these  savages  than 
this  instance  of  half  a  score  of  them  assaulting;  a  well- 
appointed  company  of  170  men  in  the  wilderness,  any 
two  of  whom  were  more  than  a  match  for  them  in  a 
fight.  Of  course,  having  delivered  their  yells  and  shot 
their  arrows,  they  turned  sharply  about  and  fled. 
Probably  they  knew  they  could  rely  upon  their  speed, 
for  they  left  our  pursuing  men  far  out  of  sight  in  an 
incredibly  short  time.  The  ten  savages  who  thus  visited 
us  were  the  same  who  had  affected  such  solicitude  as  to 
come  to  ascertain  if  we  had  lost  the  road  yesterday. 

In  my  rambles  after  meat  during  the  day,  far  down 
the  shore  of  the  Lake  from  the  halting-place,  I  came  to 
vast  heaps  of  bones  of  slaughtered  game.  They  seem  to 
have  been  of  many  kinds,  from  the  elephant  and 
hippopotamus  down  to  the  small  bush-bok.  It  is  probable 
that  they  had  been  surrounded  by  natives  of  the  district 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  fire,  had  slaughtered  them  in 
heaps  within  a  circle  of  not  more  than  300  yards  in 
diameter.  * 

Saat  Tato  the  hunter,  after  wounding  a  buffalo,  was 
deterred  from  following  it  by  the  appearance  of  a  full- 
grown  lion,  who  took  up  the  chase. 

The  shore  of  the  Lake  as  it  trends  North  Easterly, 
increases  greatly  in  beauty.  Over  a  score  of  admirable 
camping  places  were  seen  by  me  close  by  the  edge  of  the 
Lake,  with  slopes  of  white  firm  sand,  over  much  oi 
which  the  waves  rolled  ceaselessly.  Behind  was  a  back- 
ground of  green  groves  isleted  amid  greenest  sward,  and 
game  of  great  variety  abounding  near  by  ;  while  a  view 
of  singular  magnificence  and  beauty  greeted  the  eye  in 
every  direction. 

At  5.30  P.M.  we  gathered  together,  and  silently  got 
into  order  of  march  for  the  base  of  the  mountain.     We 


S40  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1887.  had  three  sick  people  with  us,  two  of  them  had  not  yet 
Dec.  16.  j^g(3QYgj,g(j  from  the  effects  of  our  miserable  days  in  the 
Nyanza.  great  forcst,  another  suffered  from  a  high  fever  incurred 
in  last  night's  rain-storm. 

At  9  P.M.  we  stuml^led  upon  a  village,  which  confused 
us  somewhat,  ])ut  the  huge  mountain,  rising  like  a  dark 
cloud  above  us,  prevented  us  from  retracing  our  steps, 
which  without  it  we  might  well  have  done,  as  it  was 
extremely  dark.  In  dead  silence  we  passed  through  the 
sleeping  village,  and  followed  a  path  out  of  it,  which,  de- 
generating into  a  mere  trail,  was  soon  lost.  For  another 
hour  we  bore  on,  keeping  our  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  the 
darker  shadow  that  rose  to  the  starry  sky  above  us, 
until  at  last  wearied  nature,  betrayed  by  the  petulance 
of  the  advance  guard,  demanded  a  halt  and  rest.  We 
threw  ourselves  down  on  the  grass  even  where  we  halted, 
and  were  soon  in  deepest  slumber,  indifferent  to  all 
troubles. 

At  dawn  we  rose  from  a  deep  sleep,  drenched  with 
dew  and  but  little  refreshed,  and  gazing  up  at  the 
immense  wall  of  the  table-land  that  rose  in  four  grand 
terraces  of  about  600  feet  each,  we  discovered  that  we 
were  yet  about  two  miles  from  the  foot  of  the  pass.  We 
therefore  pressed  forward,  and  shortly  reached  the  base 
of  the  ascent.  By  aneroids  we  were  150  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  l.ake,  which  was  2400  feet*  above  the 
sea,  and  we  were  2500  feet  below  the  summit  of 
the  saddle,  or  sunken  ridge  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  ranges  whose  Eastern  ends  frowned  above  us, 

AVliilc  the  carriers  of  the  expedition  broke  their  fast 
oi\  flic  last  morsels  of  meat  received  from  yesterday's 
liiuiting,  thirty  pi(tkcd  men  were  sent  up  to  seize  the 
top  of  tlic  ascent,  and  to  keep  the  post  while  the  loaded 
caravan  sti'nggled  upward. 

After  lialf-an-houi's  ni-acc  we  commenced  ascending 
np  tlie  I'ocky  and  i-ain-scoured  slope,  with  a  fervid 
"  Bisniillali  "  on  our  lips.  After  tlie  fatiguing  night- 
march,  llic  ;irter-chill  of  the  dew,  and  drizzling  ]-ain 
and  cold  of  llie  early  morn,  we  were  not  in  the  best 
condition  to  rlimb  (o  .i   2500  feet  altitnde.      To  increase 


THE   TERRIBLE   CLIMB    TO    THE    TABLE-LAND,         341 

our  discomfort,  the  Eastern  sun  sliono  full  on  our  bar-ks,      i887. 
and  the  rocks  reflected  its  heat  in  our  faces.     One  of  the    ^'"-"-  ^"• 
sick  men  in  delirium  wandered  away,  another  sufferinir    >?,!',?!' 
from  high  bilious  fever  surrendered  and  would  proceed 
no  further.      When  we  were  half-way  up  twelve  natives 
of  Katonza's  were  seen  far  below  on  the  plains,  bounding 
along  the  track  in  hot  chase  of  the  Expedition,  with  the 
()))ject  of  picking  up  stragglers.    They  probably  stumbled 
across  our  sick  men,  and  the  ease  with  which  a  delirious 
and  unarmed  person  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  spears  would 
inspire    them  with    a    desire  to    try  again.      However, 
Lieutenant   Stairs  was  in  charge  of  the  rear  guard,  and 
no  doubt  would  give  a  good  account  of  them  if  they 
approached  within  range. 

At  the  top  of  the  second  terrace  we  found  a  little 
stream  which  was  refreshingly  cool,  for  the  quartzose 
rocks  and  gneissic  boulders  were  scorching.  That  the 
column  suffered  terribly  was  evident  by  the  manner  it 
straggled  in  fragments  over  the  slopes  and  terraced 
flats,  and  by  the  streams  of  perspiration  that  coursed 
down  their  naked  bodies.  It  was  a  great  relief  that  our 
sharp-shooters  held  the  brow  of  the  hill,  for  a  few  bold 
spearmen  might  have  decimated  the  panting  and  gasping 
sufferers. 

At  the  top  of  the  third  terrace  there  was  a  short  halt, 
and  we  could  command  a  view  far  down  to  the  rear  of 
the  column,  which  had  not  yet  reached  the  summit  of 
the  first  terrace,  and  perceived  the  twelve  natives 
steadily  following  at  about  500  yards'  distance,  and  one 
by  one  they  were  seen  to  bend  over  an  object,  which  I 
afterwards  found  from  the  commander  of  the  rear-guard 
was  our  second  sick  man.  Each  native  drove  his  spear 
into  the  body. 

Observing  their  object,  it  was  resolved  that  their 
hostility  should  be  punished,  and  Saat  Tato  the  hunter 
and  four  other  experts  were  posted  behind  some  large 
rocks,  between  which  they  could  observe  without  being 
detected. 

In  two  and  three-quarter  hours  we  reached  the  brow 
of  the  plateau,  and  were  standing  by  the  advance-guard. 


342 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Dec.  17. 

The 
Plateau. 


who  had  done  excellent  service  in  keeping  the  enemy 
away,  and  as  the  rear-guard  mounted  the  height  we 
heard  the  sharp  crack  of  rifles  from  the  ambushed  party, 
who  were  avenoino-  the  murder  of  two  of  their  comrades. 
One  was  shot  dead,  another  was  borne  away  bleeding, 
and  the  ferocious  scavengers  had  fled. 

During  the  short  breathing  pause  the  advance-guard 
were  sent  to  explore  the  village  near  by,  which,  it  seems, 
was  the  exchange  place  between  the  plateau  natives  and 
Lakists,  and  the  gratifying  news  of  a  rich  discovery  soon 


CUKN    UHANAKY    OF    'IHE    liABUSESSE. 


spread  Ihrougli  the  column.  A  large  store  of  grain  and 
Ijeaiis  had  l)een  found,  sufficient  to  give  each  man  five 
days'  unstinted  rations. 

At  I  r.M.  we  resumed  our  march,  after  giving  positive 
coiiimand  that  ch)se  order  should  be  maintained  in  order 
U)  avoid  af'cidonts  and  unnecessary  loss  of  life.  From 
the  front  of  tin;  cohimii,  the  ab(n'igines,  who  had  in  the 
interval  of  the  halt  gathered  in  vast  numbers,  moved 
away  to  our  Hanks  and  rear.  A  large  party  hid  in 
8ome  tall  grass  through  which  they  aupposed  we  ahould 


Gavira's. 


EXULTING   NATIVES   CHECKED.  343 

pass,  but  we  swerved  aside  through  a  breadth  of  short     i887. 
grass.     Baffled  by  this  movement  they  rose  from  their  j^*^*^;  ^^• 
coverts   and   sought  by  other   means  to   gratify  their 
spleenish  hate. 

In  crossing  a  deep  gully  near  the  knoll,  which  had 
already  witnessed  a  stirring  contest  between  us,  the 
centre  and  rear  of  the  column  became  somewhat  con- 
fused in  the  cany  grass,  and  crossed  over  in  three  or 
four  broken  lines  ;  our  third  sick  man  either  purposely 
lagged  behind,  or  felt  his  failing  powers  too  weak  to 
bear  him  further,  and  laid  down  in  the  grass,  but  it  is 
certain  he  never  issued  from  the  gully.  We  in  the 
advance  halted  for  the  column  to  reform,  and  just  then 
we  heard  a  storm  of  triumphant  cries,  and  a  body  of 
about  400  exulting  natives  came  leaping  down  the 
slopes,  infatuated  with  their  noisy  rage  and  indifferent 
to  rear -guards.  Doubtless  the  triumphant  cries 
were  uttered  when  the  sick  man's  fate  was  sealed. 
We  had  lost  three  !  The  rush  w^as  in  the  hopes  of 
obtaining  another  victim.  And,  indeed,  the  rear- 
guard, burdened  wdth  loads  and  harassed  by  their 
duties,  seemed  to  promise  one  speedily.  But  at  this 
juncture  an  expert  left  the  advance  and  proceeded  to 
take  position  three  hundred  yards  away  from  the  line  of 
march,  and  nearer  to  the  exultant  natives,  who  were 
bounding  gleefully  towards  the  tired  rear-guard.  His 
first  shot  laid  a  native  flat,  a  second  smashed  the  arm  of 
another  and  penetrated  his  side.  There  was  an  instant's 
silence,  and  the  advance  leaped  from  their  position  to 
assist  the  rear-guard,  who  were  immediately  relieved  of 
their  pursuers. 

An  hour's  journey  beyond  this  scene  we  camped  on  a 
tabular  hill,  which  commanded  a  wide  view  of  rich 
plains,  for  the  night — footsore  and  weary  beyond  any 
former  experience. 

On  this  afternoon  I  reflected  upon  the  singularity  that 
savages  possessing  such  acute  fear  of  death  should  yet 
so  frequently  seek  it.  Most  men  would  have  thought 
that  the  losses  which  had  attended  their  efforts  on  the 
10th,  11th,   12th,  and  13th  would  deter  such  as  these 


344  IN  DARKEST  AFBIC'A. 

1887.  from  provoking  strangers  who  liad  proved  themselves 
Dec.  17.  gQ  ^yg]j  ^\y\Q  ^Q  defend  themselves.  At  one  time  we  had 
Gaviias.  g^jjj^Qg^  heeu  convinced  that  fire  would  teach  them 
caution  ;  we  had  also  thought  that  keeping  in  a  quiet 
line  of  march,  abstaining  from  paying  heed  to  their 
war-cries  and  their  manoeuvres,  and  only  act  w  hen  they 
rushed  to  the  attack,  w-ere  sufficient  to  give  them 
glimpses  of  our  rule  of  conduct.  But  this  was  the  fifth 
day  of  our  forbearance.  We  were  losing  men,  and  we 
could  ill  afford  to  lose  one,  for  a  vast  work  remained 
unfinished.  We  had  still  to  penetrate  the  forest  twice, 
we  had  to  proceed  to  Ipoto  to  carry  our  boat  to  the 
Nyanza,  search  the  shores  of  the  Lake  as  far  as  Wadelai 
— even  Duffle,  if  necessary — for  news  of  Emin,  to  return 
back  again  t<j  the  assistance  of  Major  Barttelot  and  the 
rear-column — who  were  by  this  time  no  doubt  looking 
anxiously  for  help,  wearied  with  their  overwhelming 
task — and  ao-ain  to  march  through  these  grass-land  tribes 
to  be  each  time  subject  to  fatal  loss  through  their  unpre- 
cedented recklessness  and  courage.  I  resolved,  then, 
that  the  next  day  we  should  try  to  find  w^hat  effect 
more  active  operations  would  have  on  them,  for  it  might 
be  that,  after  one  sharp  and  severe  lesson  and  loss  of 
their  (tattle,  they  would  consider  whether  war  was  as 
profitable  as  peace. 

Accordingly,  the  next  day  before  dawn  I  called  for 
volunteers.  Eighty  men  responded  with  alacrity.  The 
instructions  were  few — 

"  You  see,  boys,  these  natives  fight  on  the  constant 
run  ;  they  have  sliarp  eyes  and  long  limbs.  In  the 
woT'k  of  to-day  we  white  men  are  of  no  use.  We  are 
all  i'txjtsore  and  weary,  and  we  cannot  run  far  in  this 
cMuntry.  Tlicrcfore  you  w^ill  go  together  wath  your 
own  chiefs.  Uo  and  hunt  those  fellows  who  killed  our 
sick  men  yesterday.  Go  right  to  their  villages  and 
l)riug  away  every  cow,  slicop,  and  goat  you  can  find. 
Jjijii't  ])otlier  al)out  filing  llicir  liuts.  You  must  keep 
ou  full  speed,  and  chase,  (licni  out  of  every  cane-brake 
and  liill.  l>i"ing  me  sonic  })risonei's  tliat  I  may  have  some 
of  tlicir  (;vvn  people  to  send  to  them  with  my  wordii" 


LIFE  IN  AFRICA. 


845 


Meanwhile  we  availed  our.selves  of  the  halt  to  attend 
to  our  personal  aflairs.  Our  shoes  and  clothing  needed 
repair,  and  for  hours  we  sat  cobbling  and  tailoring. 

At  five  in  the  afternoon  the  band  of  volunteers 
returned,  bringing  a  respectable  herd  of  cattle  with  several 
calves.  Six  bulls  were  slaughtered  at  once,  and  dis- 
tributed to  the  men  according  to  their  companies,  who 
became  nearly  delirious  with  happiness. 

"  Such,"  said  Three  O'clock  the  hunter,   "  is   life    in 


1887. 
Dec.  18 

Gavira's. 


A    VILLAGE    OF    TliL    llAVIia;     LLliOi'KAN.S     1  Ali.i  IIU  N(i.    LTOV 

this  continent  with  a  caravan.  One  day  we  have  a 
feast,  and  on  the  next  the  stomach  is  craving.  Never 
are  two  days  alike.  The  people  will  eat  meat  now^  until 
they  are  blind,  and  next  month  they  will  thank  God  if 
they  get  as  much  as  a  wood-bean."  Saat  Tato  had  dis- 
covered, like  myself,  that  life  in  Africa  consists  of  a 
series    of    varied    sufferino-s    w4th    intervals    of    short 

o 

pleasures. 

The  cold  was  very  great  on  this   high  land.     Each 
night  since  we  had  entered  the  grass  country  we  had  been 


346  IN  DARKEST  AFBICA. 

1887.  driven  indoors  near  sunset  by  the  raw  misty  weather  of 
Dec.  18.  ^|-^g  evening,  and  we  shivered  with  chattering  teeth  in 
btm'^."  the  extreme  chilliness  of  the  young  day.  On  this  morn- 
ing the  temperature  was  at  59^  Fahrenheit.  The  men 
were  stark  naked  owing:  to  the  exactions  and  extortions 
of  the  Manyuema,  and  had  taken  kindly  to  the  leather 
dresses  of  the  natives,  and  the  bark  cloths  worn  by  the 
aborigines  of  the  forest.  After  experiencing  the  extremes 
of  cold  to  which  these  open  pasture-lands  were  subject, 
we  no  longer  wondered  at  the  tardiness  shown  by  the 
inhabitants  to  venture  out  before  nine  o'clock,  and  it 
would  have  been  manifest  wisdom  for  us  to  have  adopted 
theii'  example,  had  our  task  permitted  it. 

On  the  19th  December  we  struck  across  the  rolling- 
plains  towards  Mazamboni.  As  we  came  near  Gavira's 
we  were  hailed  by  a  group  of  natives,  who  shouted  out, 
"  The  country  lies  at  your  feet  now.  You  will  not  be 
interfered  with  any  more ;  but  you  would  please  us  well 
if  you  killed  the  chief  of  Undussuma,  who  sent  us  to 
drive  you  back." 

At  noon,  as  we  were  abreast  of  the  Balegga  Hills,  two 
parties  of  forty  men  each  were  observed  to  be  following 
us.  They  hailed  us  finally,  and  expressed  a  wish  to 
*'  look  us  in  the  face."  As  they  declined  the  permission 
to  approach  us  without  arms,  they  were  sharply  ordered 
away,  lest  we  should  suspect  them  of  sinister  designs. 
They  went  away  submissively. 

In  the  afternoon  we  came  to  the  villages  of  those  who 
had  so  persistently  persecuted  us  on  the  12tli.  The 
y)eople  were  spread  over  the  hills  vociferating  fiercely. 
The  advance-guard  were  ur^^ed  forward,  and  the  hills 
were  cleared,  despite  the  storms  of  abuse  that  were  poured 
out  by  the  Balcn-o-a. 

A  few  of  the  captured  cattle  furnished  milk.  Our 
goats  also  gave  an  ample  supply  for  tea  and  coffee,  which 
W(i  wcj-(>  bound  to  accept  as  evidence  that  the  heart  of 
Africa  could  sup[)ly  a  few  comforts. 

On  the  20th  our  march  lay  through  the  rich  valley  of 
Undussuma,  the  villages  of  which  had  been  fired  on  the 
10th  and  1 1th.      Already  it  had  recovered  its  aspect  of 


Undus- 
suma. 


THE  ItlCH    VALLEY    OF   UNDUSSUMA.  347 

populousiiess  and  prosperity,  for  tlic  liuts  were  all  built  1887 
anew,  but  it  was  still  as  death,  tlie  inhabitants  sitting  on  ^'^^"  ^^ 
the  mountains  looking  down  upon  us  as  we  marched 
past.  Not  being  challenged  or  molested,  w^e  passed 
through  in  close  order  amidst  a  voiceless  peace.  May  it 
not  be  that  by  comj)aring  one  day's  conduct  with  another, 
the  now  from  then,  the  children  of  Mazamboni  will 
accept  the  proffer  of  friendship  which  we  may  make  on 
our  return  ?  We  felt  that  the  next  time  we  came  into 
the  land  we  should  be  received  with  courtesy,  if  not  with 
hospitality.  Thus  steadily,  in  view  of  hundreds  of 
Mazamboni's  warriors,  we  passed  through  the  renovated 
valley.  The  millet  was  now  ripe  for  the  harvest,  and 
with  our  departure  westward,  happy  days  were  yet  in 
store  for  them. 

The  next  day  we  entered  the  Abunguma  country,  and 
after  fording  the  East  Ituri  River,  camped  on  the  right 
bank. 

The  22nd  was  a  halt — both  Lieutenant  Stairs  and  my- 
self were  prostrated  by  ague  and  footsores ;  and  on  the 
23rd  we  marched  to  the  main  Ituri  River,  where  we 
found  that  the  Babusesse  had  withdrawn  every  canoe. 
We  proceeded  down  along  the  bank  to  a  part  of  the 
stream  that  was  islanded.  By  2  p.m.  of  the  24th  we  had 
made  a  very  neat  and  strong  suspension  bridge  from  the 
left  bank  to  an  island  in  midstream,  though  only  twf) 
men  could  travel  by  it  at  a  time.  Uledi,  the  coxswain 
of  the  advance,  with  a  chosen  band  of  thirteen  men, 
swam  from  the  island  to  the  right  bank  with  their  rifles 
over  their  shoulders,  and  the  gallant  fourteen  men  scoured 
up  and  down  the  banks  for  canoes,  but  were  unsuccessful. 
In  the  meantime  a  terrible  storm  of  hail  as  larsje  as 
marbles  beat  down  our  tents,  nearly  froze  the  men,  and 
made  everybody  miserable  with  cold.  The  temperature 
had  suddenly  fallen  from  75°  to  52°  Fahrenheit.  After 
lasting  fifteen  minutes  the  sun  shone  on  a  camp  ground 
strewn  with  hail. 

At  daylight,  Christmas  morning,  I  sent  Mr.  Jephson 
and  Chief  Rashid  across  the  river  with  instructions  to 
make  a  raft  of  banana  stalks.     It  was  noon  before  it  was 


348 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1887. 
Dec.  21. 

Babusesse. 


finished,  but  in  the  nieantinie  tlie  caravan  was  passing  hy 
the  suspension  bridge  to  the  island,  and  the  ferriage  by 
raft  commenced,  taking  four  men  with  loads  at  one  trip. 
In  one  hour  we  transported  forty  men  and  their  loads  by 
these  banana  stalks.  G-etting  more  confident,  we  sent  six 
men  and  six  loads  at  one  trip,  and  by  4  p.m.  No,  2  Com- 
pany was  safe  across.  No.  1  Company  then  turned  to 
haul  the  cattle  from  the  left  bank  island,  and  after  the 
rear-guard  had  crossed  by  the  bridge,  "  Three  O'clock  " 
laid  his  bill-hook  to  the  suspension  bridge,  and  with  a 
few  strokes  destroyed  it. 


(;i;i:.\i'  i;oi'K   Ni:Ait  indi;--i-om;.\. 


By  noon  of  the  2r)th  the  Expedition  was  across  the 
main  Ituri  lliver.  Six  calves  were  slaughtered  for  a 
( 'liiistmas  ration  of  Ijeef  The  next  day  one  of  our  head 
men  died  fi'om  iiillaiimiat  ion  of  the  lungs,  caused  by  a  clii]l 
caught  while  halting  on  llic  bi'ow  of  the  phiteau  after  the 
perspii'ing  ascent  from  (lie  l.iki'  plain.  By  the  29th  we 
had  rcaclicd  liide-sura  ;  we  thence  proceeded  to  the  small 
village  of  tliree  huts  near  lyugu.      On  the  1st  of  Jaimary^ 


BORYO'S    VILLAGE  BURNT. 


349 


1 888,  we  camped  at  Inde-tongo,  and  the  next  day  passed 
by  a  gigantic  granite  rock  in  the  forest,  which  sometimes 
is  used  by  the  forest  natives  as  a  refuge  resort  during 
internecine  strife. 

On  the  6th  January  we  passed  by  Inde-mwani,  and  came 
across  the  spot  whence  Msharasha,  a  Zanzibari,  had  fallen 
from  a  log  and  broken  his  neck.  The  scavengers  of  the 
woods — the  red  ants — had  eaten  the  scalp  and  picked  the 
skull  clean,  until  it  resembled  a  large  ostrich  Q,gg.  The 
chest  of  the  body  w^as  still  entire,  but  the  lewder  limbs 
were  consumed  clean.  On  the  next  day  we  entered 
Ibwiri,  and  came  to  Boryo's  village ;  but,  alas  !  for  our 
fond  hopes  of  rendering  the  village  comfortable  for  occu- 
pation, the  natives  had  set  fire  to  their  own  fine  dwell- 
ings. Fortunately  for  us,  they  had  taken  the  precaution 
to  pick  out  the  finest  boards,  and  had  stacked  many  of 
them  in  the  bush.  The  large  stores  of  Indian  corn  had 
})een  hastily  removed  into  temporary  huts  built  within 
the  recesses  of  impervious  bush.  We  set  to  at  once  to 
collect  the  corn  as  well  as  the  boards,  and  before  night 
we  had  begun  the  construction  of  the  future  Fort  Bode, 
or  the  "  Peaceful  Fort." 


1887. 
Dec.  29. 

Inddsura. 


VlJiW    UK    t'UBT    BOUO. 


350  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LIFE   AT    FORT    BODO. 

Our  impending  duties — The  stockade  of  Fort  Bodo — Instructions  to 
Lieutenant  Stairs — His  departure  for  Kilonga-Longa's — Pestered  by 
rats,  mosquitoes,  etc. — Nights  disturbed  by  the  lemur — Armies  of 
red  ants— Snakes  in  tropical  Africa — Hoisting  the  Egyptian  flag^ 
Arrival  of  Surgeon  Parke  and  Captain  Nelson  from  Ipoto — Eeport 
of  their  stay  with  the  Manyuema — Lieutenant  Stairs  arrives  with 
the  steel  boat — We  determine  to  push  on  to  the  Lake  at  once — 
Volunteers  to  convey  letters  to  Major  Barttelot — Illness  of  myself 
and  Captain  Nelson — Uledi  captures  a  Queen  of  the  Pigmies — Our 
fields  of  corn— Life  at  Fort  Bodo — We  again  set  out  for  the  Nyanza. 

1883.  On  arriving  at  West  Ibwiri,  about  to  build  Fort  Bodo, 
.Ian.  6.  J  £g||.  pi^ecisely  like  a  "  city  man "  returning  from 
°  °"  liis  holiday  to  Switzerland  or  the  sea-side,  in  whose 
absence  piles  of  business  letters  have  gathered,  which  re- 
quire urgent  attention  and  despatch.  They  must  be 
opened,  read,  sifted,  and  arranged,  and  as  he  reflects  on 
their  import  he  perceives  that  there  are  many  serious 
affairs,  which,  unless  attended  to  with  method  and 
diligence,  will  involve  him  in  confusion.  Our  holiday 
trip  had  been  the  direct  and  earnest  march  to  the  Albert 
Lake,  to  serve  a  Governor  who  had  cried  to  the  world, 
"  Help  us  quickly,  or  we  perish."  For  the  sake  of  this, 
Major  Barttelot  liad  l)een  allowed  to  bring  up  the  rear 
(•()lunui,  the  sick  had  l)Con  housed  at  ITgarrowwa's  and 
Kilonga-Longa's  stations,  the  extra  goods  had  been  buried 
in  a  sandy  cache  at  Nelson's  starvation  camp  or  stored 
at  Ipoto,  tlie  boat  Adnance  had  been  disconnected  and 
hidden  in  the  l)ush,  and  Nelscm  and  Surgeon  Parke 
liad  ])cen  })oardcd  with  the  Manyuema,  and  everything 
that  ]i;id  ilirc-iiciicd  to  impede,  delay,  or  tliwart  the 
march  liad  been  thrust  aside,  or  eluded  in  some  way. 
But  now  that  the  (:j|()vcru()r,  who  had  been  the  cynosure 


THE  STOCKADE   OF  FORT  BODO. 


851 


of  our  imaginations  and  the  subject  of  our  daily  argu- 
ments, liad  either  departed  homeward,  or  could,  or  would 
not  assist  in  his  own  relief,  the  various  matters  thrust 
aside  for  his  sake  required  immediate  attention.  So  I 
catalogued  our  impending  duties  thus  : — 

To  extricate  Nelson  and  Parke  from  the  clutches  of 
the  Manyuema,  also  to  bring  up  the  convalescents,  the 
Advance  steel  boat,  Maxim  machine  gun,  and  116  loads 
stored  at  Ipoto. 

To  construct  Fort  Bodo,  to  securely  house  a  garrison  ; 
make  a  clearing ;  plant  corn,  beans,  tobacco,  that  the 
defenders  may  be  secure,  fed,  and  comforted. 

To  communicate  with  Major  Barttelot  by  couriers,  or 


1888. 
Jan.  6. 

Fort  Bodo. 


VIEW   O?   FOKT   BODO. 


proceed  myself  to  iiim ;  to  escort  the  convalescents  at 
Ugarrownva's. 

If  boat  was  stolen  or  destroyed,  then  to  make  a  canoe 
for  transport  to  the  Nyanza. 

If  Barttelot  was  reported  to  be  advancing,  to  hasten 
supplies  of  corn  and  carriers  to  his  assistance. 

And  first,  the  most  needful  duty  was  to  employ  every 
soul  in  the  building  of  the  stockade,  within  which  the 
l)uildings  could  be  constructed  at  more  leisure,  and  with- 
out the  necessity  of  having  rifles  slung  to  our  shoulders. 
During  our  absence  the  natives  had  burnt  West  Ibwiri, 
and  Boryo's  fine  village  was  a  smoking  ruin  when  we 
entered.  But  the  finest  boards  had  been  stripped  off 
the  buildings,  and  were  stacked  outside,  and  the  corn  had 


352  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     been  hastily  removed  to  temporary  huts  in  impervious 
^"'   ■    bush  two  hundred  yards  away.     'These  were  now  invalu- 

rort  Bodo.     i  i       .  "^  '' 

able  to  us. 

By  the  18th  of  January  the  stockade  of  Fort  Bodo 
was  completed.  A  hundred  men  had  been  cutting  tall 
poles,  and  bearing  them  to  those  who  had  sunk  a  narrow 
trench  outlining  the  area  of  the  fort,  to  plant  firmly  and 
closely  in  line.  Three  rows  of  cross  poles  were  bound 
by  strong  vines  and  rattan  creepers  to  the  uprights. 
Outside  the  poles,  again,  liad  been  fixed  the  planking, 
so  that  while  the  garrison  might  be  merry-making  by 
firelight  at  night,  no  vicious  dwarf,  or  ferocious  aborigine 
miglit  creep  up,  and  shoot  a  poisoned  arrow  into  a 
throng,  and  turn  joy  to  grief.  At  three  angles  of  the 
fort,  a  tower  sixteen  feet  high  had  been  erected,  fenced, 
and  boarded,  in  like  manner,  for  sentries  by  night  and 
day  to  observe  securely  any  movement  in  the  future 
fields  ;  a  banquette  rose  against  the  stockade  for  the 
defenders  to  command  greater  view.  For  during  the 
months  that  we  should  be  employed  in  realizing  our 
stated  tasks,  the  Manyuema  might  possibly  unite  to 
assault  the  fort,  and  its  defence  therefore  required  to 
be  bullet-proof  as  well  as  arrow-proof. 

When  the  stockade  was  completed,  the  massive 
uprights,  beams,  hundreds  of  rafters,  thousands  of 
climl)ers,  creepers,  vines,  for  the  frames  of  the  officers' 
buildings,  storerooms,  kitchens,  corn-bins,  outhouses, 
piles,  of  phrynia  leaves  for  roofing  the  houses,  had  to 
be  collected,  and  then  wlien  the  gross  work  was  so  far 
advanced  on  the  evening  of  the  18th,  Lieutenant  Stairs 
was  summonc^l  to  i-eceiA^c  his  special  instructions,  which 
were  somewliat  as  follows  : — 

"  You  will  pro('0(Ml  to-morrow  with  a  luuidred  rifles  to 
Ipoto,  to  see  \vli;it  lias  become  of  Nelson,  Parke,  and  our 
sick  iiici),  and  if  living  to  escort  every  man  here.  You 
will  also  bring  tlie  boat  Advance,  and  as  many  goods  as 
possible.  The  lastlettei's  fiom  Nelson  and  Parke  informed 
us  of  many  un])leasant  things.  We  will  hope  for  the 
best.  At  any  I'ate,  you  have  one  hundred  men,  strong 
aixl    robust  as   the    Man\  iieiiia    now,  and    their  march  to 


Fort  Bodo. 


STAIIiS'   EXPEDITION   TO   JPOTO.  353 

the  Albert  Lake  lia.s  made  men  of  tliem.  They  are  filled  1888. 
with  hate  of  the  Manyuema.  They  go  there  indepen-  ''""■  ^'^• 
dent,  with  corn  rations  of  their  own.  You  may  do  what 
you  like  with  them.  Now,  if  Nelson  and  Parke  have  no 
complaints  of  hostility  other  than  general  niggardliness 
and  sulkiness  of  the  Manyuema,  do  not  be  involved 
in  any  argument,  accusation,  or  reproach,  but  l)ring 
them  on.  If  the  boat  is  safe,  and  has  not  been  injured, 
halt  but  one  day  for  rest,  and  then  hoist  her  up  on  your 
shoulders  and  carry  her  here.  But  if  the  survivors  will 
prove  to  you  that  blood  has  been  shed  by  violence,  and 
any  white  or  black  man  has  been  a  victim,  or  if  the  boat 
has  been  destroyed,  then  consult  with  the  surviving 
whites  and  blacks,  think  over  your  plans  leisurely,  and 
let  the  results  be  what  they  ought  to  be,  full  and  final 
retaliation.  That  is  all,  except  remember  for  God's  sake 
that  every  day's  absence  beyond  a  reasonable  period 
necessary  for  marching  there  and  back^  will  be  dooming 
us  here  to  that  eternal  anxiety  which  follows  us  on 
this  Expedition  wherever  we  go.  It  is  enough  to  be 
anxious  for  Barttelot,  the  Pasha,  Nelson  and  Parke  and 
our  sick  men,  without  any  further  addition." 

Three  cows  were  slaughtered  for  meat  rations  for 
Stairs'  Expedition,  each  man  received  120  ears  of  corn, 
goats,  fowls,  and  plaintains  were  taken  for  the  com- 
mander and  his  two  friends,  and  the  party  set  off  for 
Kilonga-Longa  on  the  19th. 

Stairs*  party  at  muster  consisted  of —        The  garrison  numbered — 

88  men.  60  men. 
6  chiefs.  3  cooks. 

1  officer.  4  boys. 

1  boy.  3  whites. 

1  cook.  — 

1  Manyemaw  70 

98 

After  the  departure  of  Stairs,  I  commenced  the  con- 
struction of  a  corn-bin  to  store  300  bushels  of  Indian 
corn,  and  to  plaster  the  interior  of  head-quarters. 
Jephson   busied   himself  in   levelling   fioor   of  officers' 

VOL  I.  X 


854 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1888. 
Jau.  18. 

Fort  Bodo, 


house.  Men  carried  clay,  others  rammed  and  tamped 
Some  men  were  on  the  roofs  arrano-ino-  the  large-leaved 
phrynia  one  above  the  other  on  a  kind  of  trestle  frame, 
others  formed  ladders,  made  clay-dough  for  the  walls, 
doors  and  windows  for  the  houses,  built  kitchens, 
excavated  latrines,  or  dug  the  ditch — ten  feet  wide,  six 
feet  deep — through  a  hard  yellow  clay,  that  lay  under  the 
twenty-four  inches  of  humus  and  loam  of  the  clearing. 
When  the  houses  were  completed,  we  made  a  whitewash 
out  of  wood  ashes,  which  gave  them  a  clean  and  neat 
appearance 


"f^0^§/ ..... 


^""I'^s^^**^'' 


Old  Clearing 


»N«    Pl.~T 


FLAN   OF   FOIiT    HODO   AND   VICINITY.      By  Licut.  StniVK,  R.K 

On  tlie  28tli,  li cad-quarters  was  ready  for  occupation. 
We  Iiad  cleared  three  acres  of  land,  cut  down  the  bush 
ch;an  to  tlie  distance  of  200  3^ards  from  the  fort,  chopped 
the  logs — the  liglitcr  were  carried  away,  the  heavier  were 
pilcfl  np — and  fire  applied  to  them,  and  the  next  day 
1(»1<1('(1  the  tents  and  removed  to  our  mansions,  which,  as 
Jej)hson  (Iccljircd,  were  "  remarkably  snug."  There  was 
at  first  M  fcoling  of  dampness,  ])ut  a  charcoal  fire  burning 
night  and  day  soon  baked  the  walls  dry. 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  JTEADQUABTERS.  355 

To  February  6  we  extended  the  clearing,  but  dis-     isss. 
covering  that  natives   were   prowling   about   the  fort,    •^'''"-  ^^• 
planting  poisoned  splinters  in  the  paths,  cutting  down  ^°'"*^  ^°'^° 
tlie  bananas,  and  bent  on  general  mischief,  half  of  the 
garrison  were  divided  into  two  parties  of  patr(jls,  to 
scour  the  plantations  and  the  adjoining  forest.     On  this 
day's  explorations  several  camps  of  dwarfs  were  found 
at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  fort,  with  stores  of 
plaintains  in  their  possession.     They  were  thoroughly 
rousted  out,  and  their  camps  were  destroyed. 

After  a  few  days'  experiences  of  life  in  the  buildings 
we  found  we  were  to  be  annoyed  by  hosts  of  rats,  fleas, 
and  microscopically  small  mosquitoes.  The  rats  de- 
stroyed our  corn  and  bit  our  feet,  sported  wantonly  over 
our  faces,  and  played  hide-and-seek  under  our  bed- 
clothes. It  seems  that  by  their  w^ondrous  craft  they 
had  discovered  the  natives  were  about  to  burn  West 
Ibwiri,  and  had  migrated  in  time  out  of  harm's  way  into 
the  deep  bush  and  the  corn  fields,  and  they  probably 
had  a  dim  idea  that  such  an  eligible  place  would  not 
remain  long  without  tenants.  When  the  commodious 
houses  of  the  Europeans  were  erected,  with  spacious 
lofts,  and  corn-bins  with  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
grain,  they  had  waited  until  everything  was  prepared ; 
but  in  the  meantime  the  strange  white  men  had 
excavated  a  long  and  deep  ditch  half  round  the  fort,  the 
walls  of  which  had  been  carved  perpendicularly  out  of 
the  clay,  into  which,  in  their  scurry  and  hurry  to  take 
possession,  several  families  of  rats  tumbled,  and  one 
morning  "Eandy,"  the  fox-terrier,  leaped  in  among 
them,  and  exterminated  the  unfortunates.  Still,  from 
the  Zanzibar!  village  some  wise  old  rats  had  found  safe 
entrance  and  multiplied  so  fast  that,  until  we  became 
accustomed  to  their  playful  though  rude  sport,  we 
thought  them  to  be  an  intolerable  nuisance. 

At  the  same  time  the  warm  dry  clay  floors  began  to 
breed  fleas  by  myriads.  Poor  "  Randy "  was  most 
miserable  from  these  vexatious  torments.  We  were  in 
no  better  plight.  While  dressing  they  made  our  limbs 
black  with   their   numbers.     To  suppress  this   pest  we 


356  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     had  recourse  to  keeping  the  floors  constantly  damp,  and 
Yeb.  6.     ^Q  sweeping  the  floors  twice  a  day. 

ort  0  0.  rpj^^  ordinary  mosquito  netting  was  no  protection 
against  the  mosquitoes  of  the  clearing.  They  sailed 
through  the  open  work  as  mice  would  creep  through 
antelope  nets,  and  the  only  remedy  was  to  make 
mosquito  curtains  out  of  cotton  muslin,  which  happily 
succeeded,  but  half  sufl"ocated  the  sleepers. 

Our  soa]3  had  long  ago  been  exhausted,  and  as  a 
substitute,  though  it  was  not  agreeable  to  the  smell, 
and  was  an  altoo^ether  unsaleable  article,  we  manu- 
factured  a  soft  soap  out  of  castor-oil  and  lye,  and,  after 
a  few  experiments,  succeeded  in  turning  out  a  hard  ball- 
like substance,  which  had  all  the  desired  effect. 

Every  night,  from  Yambuya  to  the  plains,  we  had 
been  troubled  by  harsh  screams  from  the  lemur.  It 
began  at  a  startling  loud  key,  very  deliberate,  and  as 
it  proceeded  the  sounds  became  loader,  quicker,  and 
higher,  in  a  quick  succession  of  angry,  grating,  wailing 
cries.  In  the  darkness  and  silence  of  the  night,  they 
sounded  very  weird.  Soon,  from  a  distance  of  perhaps 
200  yards,  commenced  a  response  in  the  same  strain, 
from  another  sexual  mate.  Sometimes  two  or  three 
pairs  of  these  would  make  sleep  impossible,  if  any 
indisposition  had  temporarily  disturbed  the  usual  rest. 

Armies  of  red  ants  would  sometimes  invade  the  fort 
from  the  clearing  ;  their  columns  were  not  interrupted 
by  the  ditch.  In  long,  thick,  unbroken  lines,  guarded 
by  soldiers  on  either  flank,  the  innumerable  insects 
would  descend  the  ditch  and  ascend  the  opposite  sides, 
over  the  parapets,  through  the  interstices  of  the  poles, 
over  the  ])an(]uette,  and  down  into  tlic  plaza  of  the  fort, 
some  columns  attacking  the  kitchen,  others  head- 
quarters, the  officers'  mess-house,  and  woe  betide  any 
unlucky  naked  Ibol  treading  upon  a  myriad.  Better 
a  iioggiiig  with  net  t  Ics,  oi-  cayenne  over  an  excoriated 
})0(ly,  ()!■  .'I  cjiustic  l);itli  Ibr  a  ravenous  itch,  than  these 
biting  and  venomous  thousands  climlting  up  the  limbs 
.•ind  Ixxly,  burying  I  licmsclvc^  in  tlie  hair  of  the  head, 
and    jilunging   their  shining,   hoiJiy  mandibles  into  the 


Fort  bode. 


PESTERED   BY  RATS,    MOSQUITOES,   ETC.  357 

flesh,  creating  painful  pustules  with  every  bite.  Every  isss. 
living  thing  seems  disturbed  at  their  coming.  Men  are  ^''^-  *"• 
screaming,  bellowing  with  pain,  dancing,  and  writhing. 
There  is  a  general  rustle,  as  of  a  host  of  migrant 
creatures  among  the  crisp  dry  phrynia  leaves  overhead. 
The  rats  and  mice,  snakes,  beetles,  and  crickets  are 
moving.  From  a  slung  cot  I  have  observed,  by  candle- 
light, the  avengers  advancing  over  the  floor  of  my 
house,  scaling  the  walls,  searching  the  recesses  of  every 
layer  of  leaves,  skirmishing  among  the  nooks  and  cran- 
nies, mouse-holes,  and  cracks  ;  heard  moaning  and  crying 
of  little  blind  mice,  and  terrified  squealing  of  motherly  and 
paternal  rats,  and  hailed  them  as  a  blessing,  encouraging 
them  along  on  their  career  of  destruction,  until  presently 
some  perverse  and  undisciplined  tribes  would  drop  from 
the  roof  on  my  cot,  and  convert  their  well-wisher  into  a 
vindictive  enemy,  wdio,  in  his  rage,  would  call  aloud  for 
hot  glowing  embers  and  roast  them  alive  by  thousands, 
until  the  air  was  heavy  with  the  odour  of  frizzling  and 
frying  ants.     Bad  luck  to  them  ! 

While  digging  in  the  stiff  yellow  clay,  to  form  the 
ditch,  we  have  come  across  burnt  wood  in  the  hard 
compacted  material,  5  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
humus.  Yet  there  were  stately  trees,  100,  150,  and 
200  years  old,  above.  The  site  was  level,  and  apparently 
undisturbed. 

One  of  our  surprises  has  been  the  immunity  we  have 
enjoyed  from  snake-bites  in  tropical  Africa.  The  con- 
tinent swarms  with  reptiles  of  all  kinds,  from  the  silvery 
and  blind  typhlops  to  the  huge  python ;  but  while 
travelling  and  navigating  over  24,000  miles  of  land  and 
water  in  Africa,  only  two  men  have  been  w^ounded, 
neither  of  which  cases  proved  mortal.  But  the  instant 
we  begin  clearing  a  forest,  or  hoeing  a  field  or  a  road- 
way, we  begin  to  realize  the  dangers  we  have  escaped. 
During  the  work  of  clearing  the  prostrate  logs,  and 
rooting  out  the  bushy  undergrowth  and  preparing  for 
cultivation,  we  came  across  many  specimens,  some 
remarkably  beautiful.  Coiled  in  the  bushes,  green  as  a 
tender  young  wheat-blade,  were  the  slender  whip-snakes. 


Fort  Bodo. 


858  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  which  dropped  down  among  the  men  when  the  bill-hook 
Feb.  6.  ^g^g  applied  to  destroy  their  perches.  Various  species 
of  the  Dendrophis,  of  brilliant  colouring,  also  were 
revealed.  Three  bloated  puff-adders,  gorgeous  in  their 
complicated  system  of  decorations,  were  killed ;  four 
horned  snakes  crept  out  of  their  holes  to  attack  and  be 
slain ;  one  of  the  Lycodontidae,  curious  for  its  long 
fangs,  was  roasted  out  of  its  hiding-place,  while  several 
little,  blind,  blunt-headed,  silvery  snakes,  not  much 
larger  than  earthworms,  were  turned  up  hy  the  hoes. 
Tortoises  were  very  common,  and  the  mephitis  left 
frequent  traces  of  his  existence. 

While  kites,  the  most  daring  of  their  tril^e,  soared 
above  everv  clearino;  in  the  forest,  we  never  met  a  sinole 
vulture  until  we  reached  the  grass-land.  A  few  white- 
collared  eagles  now  and  then  made  their  appearance, 
but  there  were  parrots  innumerable.  From  grey  dawn 
to  dusk  these  birds  always  and  everywhere  made  their 
presence  known.  A  few  herons  occasionally  rested  on 
trees  in  the  clearing  towards  evening.  They  were 
probably  fatigued  with  their  flight  from  the  Nyanza. 
The  black  ibis  and  wasftails  were  our  constant  com- 
panions  in  the  wilds.  Trees  wdth  weaver  birds  and 
their  nests  were  a  feature  near  every  forest  village. 
The  neighbourhood,  and  finally  our  plantations,  even 
within  a  dozen  yards  of  the  fort,  were  visited  by  troops 
of  elephants.  Buffalo  and  wild-hog  tracks  were  common, 
but  we  were  not  naturalists.  None  of  us  had  leisure, 
and  pi'ol)ably  but  little  taste,  for  collection  of  insects, 
butterflies,  and  ])irds.  To  us  an  animal  or  a  bird  was 
something  to  eat,  but  with  all  our  efforts  we  seldom 
o])taiiicd  anything.  We  only  noted  what  happened  to 
catcli  our  eyes  or  cross  our  track.  We  had  too  many 
anxieties  to  ))e  interested  in  anything  save  what  was 
connected  with  them.  If  a  native  or  a  Zanzil)ari  picked 
up  a  l)rilli;nit  longicorn  beetle  or  hawk-moth,  or  fine 
butterfly,  of  a  liiige  mantis,  or  brought  birds'  eggs,  or  a 
niio  flower,  a  lily  oi'  .'iii  orchid,  a  snake  or  a  tortoise,  my 
mind  wandered  lo  Jiiy  own  special  business,  even  while 
gazing    at    and    approving    the    Und.     My   family    was 


COMPLETION   OF   THE  FORT.  359 

altogether  too  large   to  permit   frivolity  ;  not  an  hour     isss. 
passed   l)ut  my  flmcies  Hed    after  Stairs    at   I[)oto ;   or     ^^^-  ^• 
my  thoughts  were  filled  with  visions  of  Barttelot  and  ^"'^  ^"'^°' 
Jameson   struggling  through    the   forest,    overwhelmed 
with  their  gigantic  task,  or  they  dwelt  upon  the  mystery 
surrounding  the  Pasha,  or  upon  the  vicious  dwarfs  and 
the   murderous  Balesse  and  their  doings,  or  upon  the 
necessities  of  providing,  day  after  day,  food  and  meat 
for  the  present,  as  well  as  for  future  months. 

On  the  7tli  of  February  the  sounding  line  was 
stretched  out  to  measure  out  the  ap^iroaches  to  the  gates 
of  the  fort,  and  most  of  the  garrison  were  employed  for 
several  days  in  cutting  broad,  straight  roads,  east  and 
west,  for  tpick  travel  and  easy  defence.  Mighty  logs 
were  cut  through  and  rolled  aside,  the  roads  were 
cleaned,  so  that  a  mouse  might  be  detected  crossing 
them  at  200  yards  off,  a  bridge  was  built  across  the 
stream  west  of  the  fort,  by  which  the  scouts  were 
enabled  to  proceed  from  each  of  the  plantations  in  a 
short  time,  by  night  or  by  day.  It  may  well  be 
imagined  what  effect  this  flood  of  light  had  upon  the 
crafty  natives,  who  preferred  burrowing  in  dark  shades, 
and  creep  under  the  lee  of  monster  logs,  furtively  spying 
out  opportunities  for  attack.  They  felt  that  they  could 
not  cross  the  road  at  any  point  without  becoming  a 
target  for  a  sentry's  rifle,  or  their  tracks  would  betray 
them  to  the  patrols. 

On  the  next  mornino^  we  raised  a  flao;-stafi*  50  feet 
high,  and  as  the  Egyptian  flag  was  hoisted  up,  the 
Soudanese  were  permitted  to  salute  it  with  twenty-one 
rounds. 

We  had  scarcely  finished  the  little  ceremony  when  a 
shot  was  fired  at  the  end  of  the  western  road,  the  sentry 
at  the  tower  commanding  it  sang  out,  "  Sail  ho,"  and 
we  knew  the  caravan  was  coming  in  from  Ipoto. 

Surgeon  Parke  was  the  first  to  arrive,  looking  won- 
derfully well,  l)ut  Nelson,  who  suffered  from  sore  feet, 
and  entered  the  fort  an  hour  later,  was  prematurely 
old,  with  pinched  and  drawn  features,  with  the  bent 
back  and  feeble  legs  befitting  an  octogenarian. 


Fort  Bodo. 


360  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  The  following  account  will  speak  for  itself,  and  will 
Feb.  8.  pj^.Qyg  ^]^^^^  ^\^Q  stay  of  these  officers  at  the  Manyema 
""'  ""'"  village  required  greater  strength  of  mind  and  a  moral 
courage  greater  than  was  needed  l)y  us  during  our 
stormy  advance  across  the  grass-land.  They  were  not 
inspired  by  energising  motives  to  sustain  or  encourage 
them  in  their  hour  of  suffering  from  physical  pros- 
tration, sickness,  and  the  wearying  life  they  led 
among  those  fearful  people,  the  Manyuema,  whereas  we 
had  been  borne  up  by  the  novelties  of  new  scenes,  the 
constant  high  pitch  of  excitement,  the  passion  of  travel 
and  strife.  They  suffered  from  the  want  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life  day  after  day,  while  we  revelled  in 
abundance,  and  the  greatest  difficulty  of  all  was  to  bear 
all  these  sufferings  inflicted  upon  them  by  Ismailia, 
Khamis,  and  Saugarameni,  who  were  slaves  of  Kilonga- 
Lonoa,  who  was  the  slave  of  Abed  bin  Salim,  of 
Zanzibar,  sweetly  and  pleasantly. 

Report  of  Siirgeon  T.  H.  Pakke,  Army  Medical  Department,  in  medical 
charge  of  K.  I'.  R.  Expedition. 

Fort  Bodo,  8  February,  1888. 

Sir. — I  liiivo  the  honour  to  forward  this  report  for  your  information. 
In  coni])liance  with  yonr  orders  dated  24th  October,  1887,  I  remained  at 
the  Manyueina  Camp  to  take  charge  of  invalids  and  impedimenta  left  there 
on  your  departure,  28th  October,  up  to  the  time  the  relief  party  arrived, 
2;jth  January,  1888.  Of  those  invalids  whom  jou  left  at  camp,  seven 
were  sufficiently  recovered  to  send  on  with  Captain  Jephson,  7th  Novem- 
ber ;  those  remaining  were  increaspc  in  number  by  the  arrival  of  Captain 
Nelson,  his  two  boys,  and  two  men,  3rd  November;  also  heachnan  Umari 
and  nine  men,  who  were  found  in  a  starving  concUtion  in  the  bush  by 
Kilonga-Longa,  and  brought  to  camp  by  him  9th  January  ;  this  made  a 
total  of  one  sick  officer  and  thirty-nine  invalids  remaining  in  cam]);  of 
tliis  number  Cajjlaiu  Nelson  and  sixteen  men  left  with  the  relief  party. 
Twelve  men  were  away  on  a  journey  looking  for  food,  therefore  remain 
at  Manyuema  Canij),  and  eleven  deaths  occurred;  this  extrenuily  high 
mortality  will  no  doubt  astonish  you,  especially  as  it  was  entirely  due  to 
Btarvation,  o.xc(])t  in  two  iiistanc(!s  only.  From  tho  time  you  left  the 
Manyuema  (jaiiip  until  our  departure,  2()th  January,  the  chiefs  gave  little 
or  no  food  to  either  otfttrers  or  mcui ;  those  men  who  were  sufficiently 
Ktrong  to  do  a  good  day's  work,  sonu^tinu^s  got  as  many  as  ten  heads  of 
corn  (Indian)  per  man,  but  as  tiiu  working  nuiu  were  not  constantly 
empl(>y<!il,  tlicir  average;  ration  of  corn  was  al)Out  three  per  day;  those 
invah'ils  unalili;  to  work,  of  wliom  tlmre  were  many,  nH-civtul  no  food 
from  tlie  chiels.arid  wen;  tlienifori!  obliged  to  (^xist,  on  herbs.  Ueniember- 
iiig  the  wretclied  and  d(tl)ilitat(!d  (Condition  of  all  these  nusn,  botli  from 
privation   and   ilisrasc;,  you   will    reailily   uuder.staud   that   the   heartless 


SVIIGEON  VyillKKti   HErORT.  3(51 

treatment  of  tlie  Manyueiiia  cliic^l's  was  siiflicieiit  to  cause  oven  a  mucli       \2>%^. 
greatei'  mortality.  _  Keb.  8. 

The  men  were  hndl.v  lioiised,  and  their  scanty  clothing  consisied  of  p  f  u  j 
about  lialf  a  yai'd  of  native  hark-clotii,  as  tliey  sold  their  own  clothes  for 
food  ;  they  exjierienccd  not  only  the  liorrors  ol  starvation,  l)iit  were 
cruelly  and  brutally  treated  by  the  Manyuema,  who  drove  them  to  commit 
theft  by  withhoMing  food,  and  then  scored  their  backs  with  rods,  and  in 
one  cas(^  sjieared  a  man  to  death  (Asmani  bin  Hassan)  for  stealing. 

Ca])lain  Nelson  arrived  in  a  very  weak  condition,  requiring  good  food 
and  careful  ti-eatment.  He  visilcd  the  chiefs,  and  made  them  handsome 
jiresents  of  articles  costing  aloiat  £75,  with  a  view  to  win  their  sympathy  ; 
however,  they  continued  to  give  little  or  no  food  to  officers  or  men :  they 
said  that  no  arrangement  had  been  made  for  provisioning  Captain  Nelson, 
and  any  food  they  sent  to  me  was  entirely  of  their  own  generosity,  as  no 
arrangement  had  been  made  by  yoii.  I  asked  them  to  let  me  see  the 
wiitten  agreement  between  you  and  them,  which  they  did;  also  another 
document  written  in  Arabic  characters,  which  I  could  not  read.  In 
their  agreement  with  you  I  saw  that  they  had  promised  to  provision  the 
officers  and  men  whom  you  would  leave.  1  appealed  to  them,  and, 
remonstrated  with  them,  nevertheless  they  supplied  lefs  and  less  food, 
until  finally  they  refused  to  give  any  on  the  plea  that  they  had  none. 
The  height  of  this  generosity  woukl  be  reached  when  they  would  send 
two  or  three  cups  of  Indian  meal  to  feed  Cai:)tain  Nelson,  myself  and  the 
boys,  until  the  next  donation  would  turn  up  in  six  or  seven  days  after- 
wards. During  the  last  seven  weeks  we  did  not  receive  any  food  what- 
ever from  the  chiefs.  Owing  to  their  refusal  to  give  ns  food,  we  were 
obliged  first  to  sell  oiir  own  clothes,  and  eight  rifles  belonging  to  the 
Expedition  to  provide  ourselves  and  boys  with  food.  I  repeatedly  re- 
minded Ismaili  (chief)  of  the  conversation  he  had  with  you  in  your  tent 
the  night  before  you  left  the  camp,  when  he  promised  to  look  after  and 
care  for  the  officers  and  men  whom  you  left  in  camp.  Although  the 
chiefs  had  no  food  to  supply  according  to  their  agreement,  yet  they  had 
always  plenty  to  sell,  their  object  being  to  compel  us  to  sell  the  arms  and 
nmmunition  for  food.  I  send  you  a  complete  list  of  effects  left  in  my 
charge  by  Captain  Jephson,  7th  November,  all  of  which  were  correct 
when  the  relief  party  arrived,  with  the  following  exceptions,  viz. : — two 
boxes  Eemington  ammunition,  and  one  rifle,  which  were  stolen  by  a 
Zauzibari  (Saraboko),  and,  I  believe,  sold  to  the  Manyuema  chiefs. 

Several  attempts  were  made  to  steal  the  arms,  boxes,  &c. ;  on  the  night  of 
November  7th,  the  hut  in  which  the  baggage  was  stored  was  set  on  tire 
with  a  view  to  taking  everything  with  a  rush  in  the  confusion  cai.sed  by 
the  fire :  however,  their  dream  was  frustrated,  as  Captain  Nelson,  who 
was  ever  awake  saw  the  blaze,  and  gave  the  alarm  just  in  time  for  our- 
selves and  our  boys  to  put  oxit  the  fire  before  it  got  to  the  baggage. 
]  then  had  the  tents  pitched  according  to  your  directions,  not  being  able 
to  do  so  earlier,  as  I  had  no  assistance.  All  the  rifles,  ammunition, 
boxes,  &c.,  were  packed  in  the  tents,  one  of  which  was  occupied  by 
Captain  Nelson,  and  the  other  by  myself.  Every  effort  was  made  to 
prevent  things  being  stolen ;  nevertheless,  even  Captain  Nelson's  blankets 
were  taken  by  a  thief  who  got  xmdcr  the  tent  from  behind.  On  another 
occasion  I  heard  a  noise  at  my  tent-door,  and,  jumping  out  of  bed  quickly, 
I  found  a  box  of  ammunition  ten  yards  otf,  which  had  just  been  taken 
out  of  my  tent.     The  thief  escaped  in  the  dark. 

On  the  night  of  January  9th,  I  lieard  a  noise  outside  my  tent,  and, 
suspecting  a  thief,  I  crept  out  noiselessly  to  the  back,  where  1  caught 
"Camaroni,"  a  Zauzibari,  in  the  act  of  stealing  a  rifle  through  a  hole 
which  he  bad  cut  in  the  tent  for  this  offence.   Life  at  the  Manyuema  Camp 


362  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  ^^^  almost  intolerable.  Apart  from  starvation,  the  people,  their  manner 
Feb.  8.  ^^^  surroundings,  were  of  the  lowest  order,  and,  owing  to  the  mounds  of 
p  o  ,  fecal  matter  and  decomjiosing  vegetation  which  were  allowed  to  collect 
on  the  patlis  and  close  to  their  dwellings,  the  place  was  a  hotbed  of 
disease  Captain  Nelson  was  confined  to  his  bed  from  sickness  for  over 
two  months,  and  I  got  blood-poisoning,  followed  by  erysipelas,  which 
kept  me  in  bed  for  live  weeks.  During  our  illness  the  chiefs  paid  us 
frequent  visits,  but  always  with  a  view  to  covet  something  which  they 
saw  in  our  tents.  Their  avarice  was  unbounded,  and  they  made  agree- 
ments one  day  only  to  be  broken  the  next.  After  tlie  arrival  of  Kilonga- 
Longa  and  his  force  of  about  400,  including  women,  children,  and  slaves, 
food  became  really  scarce,  therefore  the  Manyuema  were  obliged  to  send 
out  larjiC  caravans  to  bring  in  food.  Twelve  Zanzibaris  who  are  absent 
accompanied  these  caravans  in  search  of  food,  and  had  not  returned  when 
1  left  the  camp  wuth  the  relief  party.  Starvation  was  so  great  just  before 
we  left  that  the  native  slaves  seizdd  one  of  their  comrades,  who  had  gone 
some  distance  from  the  camp  to  draw  water,  cut  him  in  pieces,  and 
ate  him. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  mention  that  Ca|)tain  Nelson  and  myself  did 
everything  we  could  to  preserve  a  good  feeling  with  the  Manyuema 
chiefs  and  people,  and  we  parted  ou  friendly  terms. 

T.  H.  Parke. 


To  H.  M.  Stanley,  Esq., 
Commanding  E.  P.  R.  Expedition. 


(JSunjeon  A.  M.  D.) 


The  contrast  between  the  sadlj-worn  men  who 
reached  us  from  that  hot-bed  of  suffering  at  Ipoto  and 
our  beautifully  sleek  and  glossy  men  who  had  reached 
the  Albert  was  most  marked.  Their  flesh  was  wasted, 
their  muscles  had  become  shrivelled,  their  sinews  were 
shrunk,  and  their  distinctive  and  peculiar  individualitiei^ 
seemed  to  have  altooether  vanished  until  it  had  become 

o 

a   difficult  matter  to  recognise  them. 

On  the  12th  of  February  Lieutenant  Stairs  and  his 
column  appeared  with  every  section  of  the  boat  in  good 
order.  He  had  been  absent  twenty-five  days,  and  his 
mission  had  l)een  performed  with  a  sacred  regard  to  his 
instructions  and  without  a  single  flaw. 

'I'hc  evening  of  that  date  was  remarkable  for  a  dis- 
cussion between  tlie  head-men  and  ourselves  as  to  our 
future  ste})s.  I  discovered  that  all  the  headmen  were 
unanimous  i'ov  piocceding  to  the  Nvanza  to  launch 
till'  boat  ;iii(l  .search  for  news  of  Emin.  My  desire  was 
<'i|u;illy  gi'cai  t,o  o])tain  news  of  tlui  Pasha  ;  nevertheless, 
I  III  ink  vci-y  litl.h;  was  rc(piii-ed  to  induce  me  to 
.•ib;in(lon    the   scarcli    for    tlic   l*aslia   to   obtain   news  of 


1{ 


SEARCH  FOR   PASHA   AND   BARTTELOT  ARRANGED.    863 

Major  Barttelot,  but  officers  and  men  were  alike  unani- 
mous in  tlieir  demand  that  we  should  resolve  the  fate  of  ^''^-  ^-• 
Emin  Pasha.  A  compromise  was  finally  effected.  It  was  ^"'^  ^'"^"' 
determined  that  couriers  should  be  sent  with  our 
letters  to  Major  Barttelot,  with  a  map  of  our  route  and 
such  remarks  as  would  be  of  practical  use  to  him.  It 
was  also  decided  that  Lieutenant  Stairs,  after  two  days' 
rest,  should  escort  these  couriers  as  far  as  Ugarrowwa's, 
and  see  them  safely  across  the  river,  and  that  on  return- 
ing he  should  escort  the  convalescents,  who,  too  feeble  to 
march,  had  been  housed  in  that  settlement  on  the  18tli 
September  ;  that  in  order  that  Lieutenant  Stairs  should 
"  participate  in  the  honour  of  being  present  at  the  relief 
of  Emin  Pasha,"  we  should  wait  for  him  until  the  25th 
of  March.  Meantime  we  should  continue  the  work  of 
enlarging  our  domain  for  corn  and  bean  planting,  to 
prevent  any  scarcity  of  food  while  engaged  in  the 
forest. 

The  distance  between  Fort  Bodo  and  Ipoto  was 
seventy-nine  miles,*  or  158  miles  the  round  journey, 
which  had  occupied  Lieutenant  Stairs  twenty -five  days, 
at  the  average  of  six  and  one-third  miles  per  day,  but 
he  had  reached  Ipoto  within  seven  days,  and  Jephson 
and  Uledi  had  accomplished  the  distance  in  the  same 
time,  that  is,  at  an  average  rate  of  travel  of  a  little  over 
eleven  miles  per  day.  Now,  as  Ugarrow^wa  was  104 
miles  beyond  Ipoto,  or  183  miles  from  Fort  Bodo,  it 
was  estimated  that  tlie  journey  of  366  miles  which 
Stairs  was  now  about  to  undertake  might  be  performed 
within  thirty-four  days,  or  at  the  rate  of  ten  and  three 
quarter  miles  per  day.  This  would  be  magnificent 
travelling,  especially  in  the  forest,  but  as  various  circum- 
stances might  protract  the  period,  it  was  agreed  that  if 
we  moved  towards  the  Nyanza  on  the  25th  March,  and 
as  the  carriage  of  the  boat  would  necessitate  short  stages, 
we  should  travel  slowly,  that  he  might  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  overtaking  us. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16tli  February,  at  muster,  it 
was  proclaimed  that  twenty  first-class  volunteers  were 

*  Seventy-uine  miles  one  way,  aud  eighty-four  miles  by  another  way. 


Fort  Bodo. 


364  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  required  to  convey  our  letters  to  Major  Barttelot,  at 
Feb.^16^  £10  reward  for  each  man  if  they  succeeded  in  reaching 
him,  because,  said  I,  "  You  have  all  combined  to  demand 
that  we  should  find  the  Pasha  first.  It  is  well.  But  I 
feel  as  anxious  about  the  Major  as  I  do  about  the  Pasha. 
We  must  find  both.  You  who  remember  what  we 
suffered  must  feel  what  the  Major  and  his  friends  feel, 
in  those  horrible  stretches  of  unpeopled  woods,  having 
no  idea  where  they  are  going  or  what  is  waiting  for 
them.  You  know  how  grateful  we  should  have  been, 
had  w^e  met  anybody  who  could  have  warned  us  of  the 
hunger  and  misery  we  should  meet.  Therefore  every 
man  who  volunteers  must  be  acknowledged  as  the  fittest 
for  this  noble  work  by  everyone  here.  Master  Stairs, 
whom  you  all  know  as  a  man  who  is  never  tired,  and 
never  says  '  enough '  when  there  is  something  to  be  done, 
will  show  you  the  road  as  far  as  Ugarrowwa's,  he  will 
see  that  you  are  ferried  over  with  food,  and  cartridges 
sufticient,  and  when  you  leave,  you  must  race  along 
our  old  road,  which  you  cannot  lose,  like  men  running 
for  a  big  prize.  These  letters  must  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  Major,  that  he  and  your  brothers  may  be 
saved.      Where  are  these  fifty  dollar  men  ?  " 

Of  course  at  such  times  the  Zanzibaris  are  easily 
roused  to  enthusiasm,  and  every  man  considers  himself  a 
hero.  Over  fifty  men  came  to  the  front  challenging  any 
one  to  say  aught  against  their  manliness  or  courage,  but 
they  had  to  undergo  a  searching  criticism  and  bantering 
review  from  their  fellows  and  officers,  their  (H)urage, 
powers  of  endurance,  activity,  dispositions,  strength, 
soundness  of  mind  and  body  were  questioned,  but  at  last 
twenty  men  satisfu-tory  to  Commander  and  people 
received  rations,  and  they  were  specially  enrolled  among 
the  men  of  merit  who  for  distinguished  service  were  to 
be  rewarded  with  varying  sums  of  money,  in  addition  to 
their  pay,  on  reaching  Zanzibar.  Lieutenant  Stairs  left 
for  Ipoto  and  Ugarrowwa's  at  9  o'clock  with  fowls,  goats, 
corn,  and  plantain  flour  lations  for  the  long  journey. 

On  tli(5  ]8(h  my  let't  arm,  whi('h  had  been  very  painful 
for   four   days   previously,  developed  a  large  glandular 


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■2. 


Feb.  18. 
Fort  Bodo. 


ILLNESS    OF  MYSELF  AND    CAPTAIN  NELSON.        3(J7 

swelling,  wliicli   our  surgeon  said  would  prove  to  be  an      1888. 
abscess. 

The  following  is  taken  from  my  diary  : — 

Fehruarij  19th  to  March  I3th. — On  Sunday  night,  the 
19th,  I  was  attacked  with  inflammation  of  the  stomach, 
which  has  been  called  by  Dr.  Parke  sub-acute  gastritis, 
of  so  severe  a  character  that  during  the  first  week  I  had 
only  a  confused  recollection  of  great  pain  in  the  arm  and 
stomacli,  and  general  uselessness.  Dr.  Parke  has  been 
most  assiduous  in  his  application  to  my  needs,  and 
gentle  as  a  woman  in  his  ministrations.  For  once  in  my 
life  every  soul  around  me  was  at  my  service,  and  I  found 
myself  an  object  of  universal  solicitude  night  and  day. 
My  faitHful  friends,  Parke  and  Jephson,  waited,  and 
watched,  and  served.  Poor  Nelson  was  himself  a  victim 
to  ill-health,  fevers,  debility,  eruptions  and  ulcers,  the 
effects  of  his  terrible  agony  at  Starvation  Camp,  but  he 
v/ould  come,  sometimes  tottering  weakly,  to  express  his 
sympathy.  In  the  afternoons  the  Doctor  would  permit 
the  headmen  to  visit  me,  to  convey  to  the  anxious 
Zanzibaris  their  personal  opinions  and  views  of  my  case. 
During  most  of  these  twenty-three  days  I  have  been 
under  the  influence  of  morphia,  and  the  time  has  passed 
in  unconsciousness.  But  1  am  now  slowly  recovering. 
Two  days  ago  the  abscess,  which  had  become  very  large, 
was  pierced,  and  I  am  relieved  of  that  pain.  Meanwhile 
my  daily  diet  has  consisted  of  a  pint  of  milk — thanks  to 
the  Balegga  cow — mixed  with  w^ater.  I  am  therefore  so 
feeljle  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  move. 

During  my  illness  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  two 
good  men,  Sarmini  and  Kamwaiya,  who  have  been  killed 
with  arrows,  and  one  of  the  headmen  has  been  severely 
wounded.  This  occurred  during  a  patrolling  tour  as  far 
as  the  Ihuru,  fourteen  geographical  miles  due  north, 
from  here.  Uledi  and  a  party  has  discovered  the  haunts 
of  the  dwarfs  and  taller  aborigines  who  rob  our  plantain 
groves  to  be  at  Alesse'  and  Nderi,  fourteen  geographical 
miles  east. 

I  find  that  Uledi  has  captured  a  Queen  of  the 
Pisrmies,  who  is  the  wife  of  the  Chief  of  Indekaru.      She 


1888. 
Feb.  19. 

Fort  Bodo, 


368 


IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


was  brought  in  to  be  seen  by  me  with  three  rings  of 
polished  iron  around  her  neck,  the  ends  of  which  were 
coiled  like  a  watch  spring.  Three  iron  rings  were 
suspended  to  each  ear.  She  is  of  a  light  brown  com- 
plexion, with  broad  round  face,  large  eyes,  and  small  but 
full  lips.  She  had  a  quiet  modest  demeanour,  though 
her  dress  was  but  a  narrow  fork  clout  of  bark  cloth. 


ft^^ 


THE   QUKKN    OF    TIIK    DWARFS. 


Her  height  is  about  four  feet  four  inches,  and  her  age 
may  ])c  nineteen  or  twenty.  I  notice  when  her  arms 
are  held  against  the  liglit,  a  whity-brown  fell  on  them. 
fler  skin  lias  not  that  silky  smoothness  of  toucli  common 
to  llic  Zarizi])ai-is,  bill  allogclhcr  slic  is  a  very  pleasing 
liith;  crcatui'ci. 

Marcli   13th  to   April    \st. — By  the   25th  I  was  well 


OUR   FIELDS    OF   CORN.  369 

enough  to   be  able  to  move  about  a  few  hundred  yards     1888. 
at  a  time.     My  arm  was  still  stiff  and  I  was  exceedingly  ^''"'*'^  '^^■ 
feeble.       Nelson    has    recovered    somewhat    from    his    "'^'^      *** 
successive  fits  of  illness.     During  my  convalescence  I 
have  been   supported  each  afternoon  to  the  centre  of  a 
1  tty  colonnade  of  trees,  through  which  our  road  to  the 
Nyanza  leads,  where  in  an  easy  chair  I  have  passed  hours 
f  reading  and  drowsing. 

It  has  been  a  daily  delight  while  helped  to  my  leafy 
arcade  to  observe  the  rapid  change  in  the  growth  of 
the  corn  in  the  fields,  and  to  see  how  we  have  been 
encroaching  upon  the  forest.  Our  cultivable  area,  after 
being  cleaned,  hoed,  and  planted,  was  not  long  left  with 
its  bare  brown  face  naked.  On  a  certain  day  it  became 
green  with  the  young  corn  blades,  it  had  sprouted  by 
thousands  as  though  at  the  word  of  command.  Only 
yesterday,  as  it  were,  we  smiled  to  see  the  tender  white 
stalk  arched  for  a  spring  under  a  slowly  rising  clod,  and 
now  the  clods  have  been  brushed  aside,  the  arched 
stalks  have  sprung  upright,  and  the  virgin  plants  have 
unfolded  their  tender  green  crests.  Day  by  day  it  has 
been  a  wonder  how  the  corn  has  thriven  and  grown, 
with  what  vigour  the  stalks  have  thickened,  enlarged  in 
leaf,  and  deepened  in  green.  Side  by  side  in  due  rank 
and  order  they  have  risen,  the  blades  have  extended 
towards  one  another  in  loving  embrace,  until  the  whole 
has  become  a  solid  square  field  of  corn,  the  murmur  of 
which  is  like  the  distant  wash  of  a  languid  sea  over  a 
pebbly  beach. 

This  is  the  music  to  which  I  listen  devoutly,  while  my 
medical  friend  sits  not  ftxr  off  on  the  watch,  and  sentries 
stand  still  at  each  end  of  the  avenue  on  guard.  A 
gentle  breeze  blows  over  the  forest  and  breathes  upon 
the  corn,  causing  a  universal  shiver  and  motion  through- 
out, and  I  sit  watching  the  corn  tops  sway  and  nod,  and 
salute  each  other,  with  the  beautiful  grace  and  sweefe 
undertones  of  many  wavelets,  until  drowsiness  over- 
comes me  and  seals  my  senses,  and  sleep  bears  me  to 
the  region  of  fantasy.  As  the  sun  appears  low  in  the 
west,  and  lights  the  underwood  horizontally  with  mellow 

VOL.    I,  Y 


Fort  Bodo, 


S70  IN  BABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     light,  my  kind  doctor  assists  me  to  my  feet  and  props 
March  25.  ^^^^^  ^^  J  ^gjj^j  ^q  ^|^g  Foit,  my  com  with  dancing  motion 

and  wavino^  grace  bidding;  me  farewell. 

In  the  warm  teeming  soil  the  corn  has  grown  apace 
until  it  has  reached  a  prodigious  height,  tall  as  the 
underwood  of  the  forest.  Only  a  few  weeks  ago  I 
searched  amid  the  clods  for  a  sign  of  sprouting  )  a  little 
later  and  I  might  still  have  seen  a  scampering  mouse ;  a 
few  days  ago  it  was  breast  high  ;  to-day  I  look  up  and  I 
can  scarcely  touch  the  point  of  a  rapier-like  blade  with  a 
five-foot  staff,  and  a  troop  of  elephants  might  stand 
underneath  undetected.  It  has  already  flowered ;  the 
ears,  great  and  swelling,  lying  snug  in  their  manifold 
sheaths,  give  promise  of  an  abundant  harvest,  and  I  glow 
with  pleasure  at  the  thought  that,  while  absent,  there 
need  be  no  anxiety  al)out  the  future. 

I  am  resolved  to-morrow  to  make  a  move  towards  the 
Nyanza  with  the  boat.  Tliis  is  the  forty-sixth  day  of 
Stairs'  absence.  I  liad  sent  twenty  couriers — one  of 
whom  returned  later — to  Major  Barttelot.  Stairs  and 
his  personal  attendants  numl)ered  seven.  I  shall  leave 
forty-nine  in  fort ;  inclusive  of  Nelson  there  will  be 
126  men  left  to  escort  the  Iwat  to  the  Nyanza.  Total, 
201  of  advance  column  remainino^  out  of  389,  ex- 
elusive  of  such  convalescents  as  may  be  obtained  at 
Ugarrowwa's. 

Tippu-Tib  has  evidently  l)een  faithless,  and  the  Major 
is  therefore  working  the  double  stages,  some  hundreds  of 
miles  behind  ;  the  nineteen  couriers  are  speeding  towards 
him,  and  are  pi'ol)a])ly  opposite  the  Nepoko  at  this  date, 
and  Stall's  has  found  so  many  men  yet  crippled  with 
ulcers  that  lie  is  unable  to  travel  fast.  With  126  men 
1  attempt  the  relief  of  Emin  Pasha  the  second  time.  The 
garrison  consists  of  all  those  who  suffer  from  debility, 
aiKcmia  who  were  fellow-sufferers  with  Nelson  at 
Starvation  ('amp — and  leg  sores,  some  of  which  are 
perfectly  incurabh;. 

The  la])our  jx'rformed  al)out  the  fort  is  extensive. 
Nelson  has  an  impregnable  ]»la('.e.  Tlie  fields  of  corn 
and  beans  arc  thriving,  ami  of  the  latter  I  have  enjoyed 


LIFE  AT  FORT  BO  DO. 


371 


a  first   flisli   to-day.     The  plantain  groves  appear  to  be     1888. 
inexhaustible.  ^^'"'^^1 25. 

Our  broad  roads  extend  about  half  a  mile  each  way.  ^°^'^  ^'*°- 
Ten  scouts  patrol  the  plantations  every  morning,  that 
the  mischievous  pigmies  may  not  destroy  the  supplies 
of  the  garrison,  and  that  no  sudden  onsets  of  natives 
may  l)e  made  upon  the  field  hands  while  at  work. 

Surgeon  Parke  accompanies  us  to  the  Nyanza  to- 
morrow according  to  his  own  earnest  request.  Though 
his  place  is  in  the  fort  with  the  invalids,  there  are  none 


WITHIN    KOIIT    BODO. 


who  require  greater  attention  than  can  be  given  by 
Captain  Nelson  through  his  boys,  who  have  been  in- 
structed in  the  art  of  "bathing  the  sores  with  lotions  of 
carbolic  acid  and  water. 

Our  men  on  the  Sundays  have  amused  themselves 
with  performing  military  evolutions  after  the  method 
taught  by  General  Matthews  at  Zanzibar.  They  are 
such  capital  mimics  that  his  very  voice  and  gesture  have 
been  faithfully  imitated. 

Life  at  Fort  Bodo,  on  the  whole,  has  not  been  un- 
pleasant except  for  Captain  Nelson  and  myself.     It  is 


872  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  true  we  have  fretted  and  never  been  free  from  anxiety 
F*'*^pi  r  I'sspecting  the  whereabouts  and  fate  of  our  friends.  We 
have  also  been  anxious  to  depart  and  be  doing  some 
thing  towards  terminating  our  labours,  but  circum- 
stances which  we  cannot  control  rise  constantly  to  thwart 
our  aims.  We  have  therefore  striven  to  employ  every 
leisure  hour  towards  providing  unstinted  supplies  of 
food,  in  the  hope  that  fortune  will  be  good  enough  to 
veer  round  once  in  our  favour,  and  bring  Barttelot  and 
our  friends  Jameson,  Ward,  Troup,  and  Bonny,  with 
their  little  army  of  men,  to  Fort  Bodo  before  our  second 
return  from  the  Nyauza. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

TO    THE    ALBERT    NYANZA    A    SECOND    TIME. 

Difficulties  with  the  steel  boat — Afi-ican  forest  craft — Splendid  capture 
of  pigmif s,  and  description  of  the  same — We  cross  the  Ituri  river — 
Dr.  Parke's  delight  on  leaving  the  forest — Camp  at  Besse — Zanzibari 
wit — At  Nzera-Kum-hill  otice  more — Intercourse  with  the  natives — 
"  Malleju,"  or  the  "  Bearded  One,"  being  first  news  of  Emin — Visit 
from  chief  Mazamboni  and  his  followers — Jt'i^hson  goes  through  tlie 
form  of  friendship  with  Mazamboni — The  medicine  men,  Nestor  and 
Murabo  —  The  tribes  of  the  Congo — Visit  from  chief  Gavira — A 
Mhuma  chief — TheBavira  and  Wahuma  races — The  varying  African 
ieatures — Friendship  with  Mpinga — Gavira  and  the  looking-glass — 
Exposed  Uzanza — W  e  reach  Kavalli — The  chief  produces  "  Malleju's  " 
letter — Emiii's  letter — Jejihson  and  Parke  convey  the  steel  boat  to 
the  lake — Copy  of  letter  sent  by  me  to  Emin  through  Jephson — 
Friendly  visits  from  natives. 

On  the  2nd  day  of  April,  1888,  after  a  drizzly  rain  had  isss 
ceased  to  fall,  we  filed  out  at  noon  with  a  view  to  at-  ^p"^  ^ 
tempt  a  second  time  to  find  the  Pasha,  or  to  penetrate 
the  silence  around  him.  We  had  now  our  steel  boat  in 
twelve  sections,  and  the  stem  and  stern  being  rather 
beamy  we  discovered  very  soon  that  a  good  deal  of 
cutting  with  axes  and  bill-hooks  was  required  to  permit 
them  to  pass  between  the  trees.  The  caravan  in  single 
file,  laden  with  boxes,  bales,  and  baggage,  would  find  no 
difficulty  ;  the  narrower  sections  two  feet  wide  passed 
through  without  trouble,  but  the  plough-shaped  stem 
and  stern  pieces  soon  became  jammed  between  two 
colossal  trees  which  compelled  a  retreat  and  a  detour 
through  the  bush,  and  this  could  not  be  eff"ected  without 
clearing  a  passage.  It  was  soon  evident  that  our  second 
trip  to  the  Nyanza  through  the  forest  would  consume 
some  days. 

The    advance    guard   scanning    the    track,  and  fully 


Forest. 


374  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888,  lessoned  in  all  the  crooked  ways  and  wiles  of  the  pigmies 
April  4.  ^^^  aborigines,  picked  up  many  a  cleverly-hidden  skewer 
mwlni.  from  the  path.  At  some  points  they  were  freely  planted 
under  an  odd  leaf  or  two  of  phrynium,  or  at  the  base  of 
a  log,  over  which,  as  over  a  stile,  a  wayfarer  might 
stride  and  plant  his  foot  deep  into  a  barbed  skewer  well 
smeared  w4th  dark  poison.  But  w^e  were  too  learned 
now  in  the  art  of  African  forestcraft,  and  the  natives 
were  not  so  skilled  in  the  invention  of  expedients  as  to 
produce  new"  styles  of  molestation  and  annoyance. 

The  dwarfs'  village  at  the  crossing  was  our  next  resting- 
place,  and  Inde-mwani  was  reached  on  the  4th.  The  next 
day  we  moved  to  another  dwarfs'  village,  and  in  the 
neiiihbourinix  plantain  i^rove  Saat  Tato  and  a  few  friends, 
while  collecting  a  few  of  the  fruit,  made  a  splendid 
capture  of  pigmies.  We  had  four  women  and  a  boy, 
and  in  them  I  saw  two  distinct  types.  One  evidently 
belonaed  to  that  same  race  described  as  the  Akka,  with 
small,  cunning,  monkey  eyes,  close,  and  deeply  set.  The 
four  others  possessed  large,  round  eyes,  full  and  pro- 
minent, broad  round  foreheads  and  round  faces,  small 
hands  and  feet,  with  slight  prognathy  of  jaws,  figures 
well  formed,  though  diminutive,  and  of  a  bricky  com- 
plexion. "  Partial  roast  coffee,"  "  chocolate,"  "  cocoa," 
and  "  cafe  au  lait,''  are  terms  that  do  not  describe  the 
colour  correctly,  but  the  common  red  clay  brick  when 
half  baked  would  correspond  best  in  colour  to  that  of  the 
complexion  of  tliese  little  people.  Saat  Tato  reported 
tliat  there  were  about  twenty  of  them  stealing  plantains 
which  belonged  to  the  natives  of  Indepuya,  who  were 
probably  deterred  from  defending  their  property  by  the 
rumoui'  of  our  presen(;c  in  the  woods.  The  monkey- 
eyed  woman  had  a  remarkable  pair  of  mischievous  orbs, 
protruding  lips  overhanging  her  chin,  a  prominent 
alMloincn,  naii-o\v,  flat  chest,  sloping  shoulders,  long 
alius,  i'cct  turned  gi-eatly  inwards  and  very  sliort  lower 
legs,  as  Ixiing  fitly  characteristic  of  the  link  long  sought 
])etween  the  average  modern  liumanity  and  its  Darwinian 
prog(;nitors,  Miid  ceitainly  desei-ving  of  being  classed  as 
all  extremely  ItAs,  degraded,  almost  a  bestial  type  of   a 


Indc- 
mwani. 


CAPTURE   OF    WAMBUTTI  FIG  MIES.  ?,75 

human  being.  One  of  the  others  was  a  woman  evidently  issa 
a  mother,  though  she  could  not  have  seen  her  seventeenth  ■'^J'"'  *' 
year.  No  fault  could  be  found  in  the  proportion  of  any 
one  member  ;  her  complexion  was  bright  and  healthy ; 
her  eyes  were  brilliant,  round,  and  large ;  her  upper  lip  had 
the  peculiar  cut  of  that  of  the  AVambutti  noticeable  in  the 
woman  at  Ugarrowwas,  and  the  chief's  wife  of  Indekaru, 
which  is  the  upper  edge  curving  upward  with  a  sharp 
angle  and  dropping  perpendicularly,  resembling  greatly 
a  clean  up  and  down  cut  with  a  curl  up  of  the  skin  as 
though  it  had  contracted  somewhat.  I  believe  this  to 
be  as  marked  a  feature  of  the  Wambutti  as  the  full 
nether  lip  is  said  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Austrian. 
The  colour  of  the  lips  was  pinkish.  The  hands  were 
small,  fingers  delicate  and  long,  but  skinny  and  puckered, 
the  feet  measured  seven  inches  and  her  height  was  four 
feet  four  inches. 

So  perfect  were  the  proportions  of  this  girl-mother 
that  she  appeared  at  first  to  be  but  an  undersized 
woman,  her  low  stature  being  but  the  result  of  prema- 
ture sexual  intercourse  or  some  other  accidental  circum- 
stance, but  when  we  placed  some  of  our  Zanzibar  boys 
of  fifteen  and  sixteen  years  old  by  her  side,  and  finally 
placed  a  woman  of  the  agricultural  aborigines  near  her, 
it  was  clear  to  everyone  that  these  small  creatures  were 
a  distinct  race. 

Three  hours  beyond  this  great  Mbutti  village  we 
reached  Barya-Kunya  amid  a  drizzly  rain. 

On  the  8th  we  reached  Indepessu,  and  two  clays  later 
we  travelled  from  the  base  of  Pisgali,  along  an  easterly 
path,  a  new  track  which  led  us  through  the  little  villages 
of  Mande  to  the  Ituri  river.  The  natives  had  all  fied 
from  Mande  and  the  slopes  of  Pisgali  across  the  river 
with  their  movable  property,  and  the  men  were  awaiting 
events  on  the  left  bank,  confident  that  they  were  beyond 
reach.  As  we  emero;ed  into  view  on  the  ris^ht  bank  I 
was  (pite  struck  with  the  light  brown  mass  the  warriors 
made  against  the  blackish  green  of  the  vegetation  behind 
them.  Had  they  1jeen  of  the  colour  of  the  Zanzibaris 
they  would  have  formed  an  almost  black  mass,  but  they 


876  JN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1 
Uande. 


resembled  in  colour  the  oclireous  clay  banks  of  this  river, 
^prii^s.  Xhey  shot  a  few  arrows  amongst  us  across  the  150  yards 
wide  stream ;  some  fell  short  and  others  hurtled  harm- 
lessly by  us  several  yards.  In  our  turn  we  replied  and 
a  general  scamper  occurred.  Ninety  minutes  later  the 
Expedition  was  across  the  Ituri  by  means  of  the  boat. 
The  vanguard  picked  up  a  ten-pound  packet  of  clean 
native  salt  which  had  been  dropped  by  the  natives  in 
their  flight.  Salt  was  a  condiment  greatly  needed,  and 
we  were  greatly  rejoiced  at  the  prize.  We  were  now  in 
the  territory  of  the  Bakuba,  near  the  clearing  of  Kande- 
koi-e,  which  \rskS  one  of  the  richest  clearings  in  the  forest 
of  the  Upper  Congo  basin.  On  the  edge  of  the  bank 
we  were  3,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

Three-and-a-half  hours'  march  from  the  Ituri,  we 
issued  out  of  the  forest,  and  again  the  change  from 
perpetual  twilight  to  brilliant  sunlight,  and  a  blue  sky 
was  astonishinfr,  and  we  all  smiled  to  witness  its  effects 
on  the  nerves  of  our  gentle  friend  and  companion,  the 
first  son  of  Erin  who  had  ever  viewed  the  grass  lands 
of  these  regions.  This  w^as  the  289th  day  of  Dr.  Parke's 
forest  life,  and  the  effect  of  this  sudden  emergence  out 
of  the  doleful  shades  in  view  of  this  enlarged  view  from 
the  green  earth  to  the  shining  and  glowing  concave  of 
Heaven  caused  him  to  quiver  with  delight.  Deep 
draughts  of  champagne  could  not  have  painted  his 
cheeks  with  a  deeper  hue  than  did  this  exhilarating 
prospect  which  now  met  him. 

On  the  road  just  before  leaving  the  bush  we  passed  a 
place  where  an  elephant  spear  had  fallen  to  the  ground, 
and  buried  itself  so  deep  that  three  men  were  unable  to 
heave  it  up.  Such  a  force,  we  argued,  would  luive  slain 
an  (de{>hant  on  the  instant. 

Wliilc  sketcliing  Pisgah  Mountain  in  tlic  afternoon 
from  oui-  flrst  eamp  in  the  pasture  land,  I  observed  a 
cloud  approaching  it  from  the  N.AV.,  and  all  the  forest 
beyond  was  shaded  by  its  deep  shadows,  while  the 
rolling  })lains  still  basket  in  hot  sunshine.  Presently 
another  cloud  from  the  S.li.  a])j)eared  round  the  southern 
extremity   of   IVlazamboiii's  range,  and  as  it  advanced. 


bess^ 


THE    VILLAGE   OF  ^^SSE.  377 

spread  over  the  blue  skj,  arul  l)ecamc  merged  with  the     isss. 
cloud  over  the  forest,  and  then  rain  fell.  ■'^f'"''  ^^ 

At  an  altitude  of  3,200  feet  above  the  sea  the  village 
of  Besse  is  situated,  seven  hours'  march  from  the  Ituri. 
Though  it  was  yet  early  forenoon  we  camped,  the 
abundance  of  good  ripe  bananas,  corn,  fowls,  sugar-cane, 
and  banana  wine  being  very  tempting,  and  the  distance 
to  other  villages  east  being  unknown.  Quite  an  active 
skirmish  soon  occurred  while  we  were  engaged  making 
ready  our  quarters.  Fetteh,  the  sole  interpreter  to  the 
tribes  of  the  plains,  was  grievously  wounded  over  the 
stomach.  The  Babesse'  attempted  various  means  to 
molest  us  as  the  long  grass  favoured  them,  but  by  post- 
ing sharpshooters  in  the  native  lookouts  in  the  trees 
the  knowledge  that  their  tactics  were  supervised  soon 
demoralised  them. 

We  had  some  speech  by  means  of  a  native  of  Uganda 
with  one  of  these  natives,  who  among  his  remarks 
said,  "  We  are  quite  assured  that  you  black  men  are 
creatures  like  ourselves,  but  what  of  those  white  chiefs 
of  yours  ?     Whence  do  they  come  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  our  man  replied,  with  wonderful  facility  for 
fraudful  speech,  "  their  faces  change  with  the  birth  of 
each  moon,  when  the  moon  is  getting  full  their  colour 
is  dark  like  our  own.  They  are  different  from  us,  as 
they  came  from  above  originally." 

"  Ah,  true,  it  must  be  so,"  responded  the  astonished 
native,  as  he  brought  his  hand  up  to  his  mouth  from 
politeness,  to  cover  the  mouth  that  expanded  with 
surprise. 

The  more  we  understand  the  language  of  these  natives, 
the  more  we  are  struck  with  the  identity  of  a  common 
origin.  How  could  such  as  these  people  have  ever  heard 
of  such  a  thing  as  wit.  I  heard  one  native  say  to  a 
Zanzibar!  who  had  met  more  than  his  match  when  he 
burst  out  so  impatiently  at  one  who  had  staggered 
against  him, 

"  Such  a  fool  as  thou  wast  surely  never  seen  else- 
where ?  " 

To  which  the  native  replied,  w^ith  a  benevolent  smile. 


378  JN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     *'  Ay,    it   is   my   lord,   who    is    the    sole    possessor   of 
April  12.  wisdom." 
Hesse.  ''  X\\,  but  you  are  wickedness  itself"  (personified). 

"  I  must  not  deny  it,  for  all  goodness  is  with  thee." 

It  is  a  common  reply  among  a  certain  class  of  white 
folks  when  one  is  accused  of  being  naughty,  to  reply  to 
the  accuser  that  he  is  a  gentleman,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  African  reply  is  not  inferior  in 
politeness. 

A  little  east  of  Besse  we  lost  the  native  track,  and 
were  obliged  to  strike  across  country,  steering  straight 
for  Undussuma  Peak  which  now  began  to  lift  itself  into 
view,  over  the  swells  of  grass-land  that  spread  in  great 
weaves  towards  its  foot.  The  sun  was  fearfully  hot,  and 
as  the  march  was  mainly  through  tall  grass,  we  were 
greatly  fatigued.  In  the  afternoon  we  reached  a  wooded 
hollow  near  a  pellucid  cool  stream,  which  had  its  birth- 
place somewhere  among  the  slopes  of  Undussuma  Kange 
now  distant  about  five  miles. 

On  the  14th,  after  a  march  of  six  hours,  we  were 
camped  on  the  spur  of  Nzera  Kum  hill,  and  before  us 
was  the  same  scene  which  on  the  10th  and  11th  of 
December  witnessed  our  struggles  for  mastery  with 
INIazamboni  and  his  tril^e.  So  far  our  experiences  on 
this  journey  were  very  different.  We  saw  no  leaping 
exulting  warriors,  nor  heard  a  single  menace  or  war-cry ; 
but,  as  we  intended  to  halt  here  a  day,  it  was  necessary 
to  know  what  to  expect,  and  we  despatched  our  Mganda 
interpreter  to  hail  the  natives,  who  were  seated  afar  ofi" 
on  the  hilltops  looking  down  upon  us.  At  5  P.M.  after 
several  patient  efforts,  they  were  induced  to  descend 
and  approach,  and  they  finally  entered  our  camp.  The 
j)rocess  of  esta])lisliing  a  friendship  then  was  easy.  We 
could  look  into  one  another's  faces,  and  read  as  in  a 
book  wliat  eacli  tliouglit  of  the  other.  We  mutually 
excliaiigcd  views,  whcrciin  thoy  learned  that  we  only 
needed  a  free  passage  to  the  Lake  unmolested,  that  we 
li;ul  not  appeared  as  enemies,  but  strangers  seeking  a 
li.'il(iii^-pla(;e  for  the  night,  to  pui'sue  our  I'oad  the  next 
(l;iy  without    dist  urb.iiicc.      'I'hc}'    pleadcul,  ;ih   an   excuse 


Uiiiius- 
suma. 


"  MALLJiJU;'    OB    THE  '' BEAliDED    ONE:*  379 

for  their  former  behaviour,  that  they  were  assured  we     isss, 
were  Wara  Sura  (sokliers  of  Kabba  Rega)  who  periodi-  '^'""''  ^* 
cally  visited  their  country,  devastated  their  land,  and 
carried  oti"  their  cattle. 

When  we  were  both  convinced  that  friendship  was 
possil)le,  that  our  former  misunderstanding  should  not 
interfere  with  our  future  relations,  they  heard  the 
mystery  of  our  presence  explained,  that  we  were  only 
travelling  to  discover  a  white  chief,  who  years  ago  was 
reported  to  be  somewhere  near  the  sea  of  Unyoro.  Had 
they  ever  heard  of  such  a  man  ? 

They  answered  eagerly,  "  About  two  moons  after  you 
passed  us — when  you  came  from  the  Nyanza — a  white 
man  called  '  Malleju^  or  the  Bearded  One,  reached 
Katonza's  in  a  big  canoe,  all  of  iron. 

"  Mother  !  however  could  she  float ;  and  in  the  middle 
of  it  there  rose  a  tall  black  tree,  and  out  of  it  came 
smoke  and  sparks  of  fire,  and  there  were  many  many 
strange  people  aboard,  and  there  were  goats  running 
about  as  in  a  village  square,  and  fowls  in  boxes  with 
bars,  and  we  heard  the  cocks  crow  as  merrily  as  they  do 
among  our  millet.  Malleju  with  a  deep  deep  voice 
asked  about  you — his  brother  ?  What  Katonza  said  to 
iiim  we  do  not  know,  but  Malleja  went  away  in  the  big 
iron  canoe,  which  sent  as  much  smoke  up  into  the  air  as 
though  she  was  on  fire.  Have  no  doubt  you  will  find 
him  soon ;  Mazamboni  shall  send  his  runners  to  the 
Lake,  and  by  to-morrow's  sunset  Katonza  shall  be  told 
of  the  arrival  of  Malleju's  brother." 

This  was  the  first  news  we  had  heard  of  Emin  Pasha, 
and  it  was  with  the  view  of  this  news  spreading  abroad, 
and  for  preparing  the  natives  for  the  irruption  of 
strangers  out  of  the  unknown  west,  that  I  had  sent 
couriers  from  Zanzibar  in  February,  1887.  Had  Emin, 
who  expected  us  December  15th,  but  taken  the  trouble 
to  have  sent  his  steamers  a  nine-hours'  steaming 
distance  from  his  station  of  Mswa,  we  should  have  met 
with  his  people  December  14th,  been  spared  five  days' 
fighting,  a  four  months'  loss  of  time,  and  on  or  about 
the  15th  of  March  I  should  have  been  within  the  pali- 


Undus- 
«uma, 


380  IN  DaHkest  afhica. 

1888.     sades  of  YamLuya  in  time  to  save  Barttelot  from  Ms 
Apni  14.  assassin,  Jameson  from  his  fatal  fever  attack,  Troup  from 
the  necessity  of  being  invalided  .home,  Ward  from  his 
wholly  useless  mission  to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  and  Mr. 
Bonny  from  days  of  distress  at  Banalya. 

The  next  day  was  a  severe  one  for  me.  All  the 
talking  was  levelled  at  me,  and  I  was  imprisoned  in  my 
chair  from  dawn  to  dusk  by  crowds  of  Bavira  agri- 
culturists and  Wahuma  shepherds  and  herdsmen,  chiefs 
and  slaves,  princes  and  peasants,  warriors  and  women. 
It  was  impolitic  to  stir  from  the  close  circle  which  the 
combined  oligarchy  and  democracy  of  Undussuma  had 
formed  around  me.  What  refreshments  were  taken 
were  handed  to  me  over  the  heads  of  nobles  and  serfs 
five  deep.  My  chair  was  in  the  centre,  three  umbrella 
bearers  relieved  one  another — the  sun  ran  his  course 
from  east  to  west ;  it  glowed  at  nocni  hours  with  the 
intense  heat  known  in  torrid  deserts,  from  three  to  five 
it  scorched  my  back,  then  it  became  cooler,  but  until 
the  circles  broke  and  were  dissolved  by  the  approaching 
cold  accompanying  the  dusk,  I  was  a  martyr  to  the 
cause  of  human  brotherhood. 

At  a  very  early  hour  Mazamboni  appeared  outside  of 
the  zeriba  with  an  imposing  retinue  of  followers.  He 
was  escorted  to  the  middle  of  the  camp  with  every 
mark  of  respect,  oflicers  gracefully  bowing  their  welcome, 
Zanzil)aris  and  Soudanese,  who  had  chased  him  and  his 
legions  over  the  hills  in  December,  looking  as  innocent 
as  though  they  had  never  tasted  meat  and  smiling  a 
summer  greeting.  Our  best  mats  were  spread  under  a 
sickly  dwarf  tree  for  the  convenience  of  the  august 
guest,  ivory  horns  gave  forth  mellow  blares,  reminding 
me  of  the  imperial  court  of  the  Ramessean  autocrat  of 
Uganda,  Usoga,  and  the  island  archipelagoes  of  the 
Victorian  Sea.  Notliing  was  omitted  that  experience 
with  a  thousand  chiefs  of  dark  Africa  had  taught  me 
was  necessary  ibr  ligliting  up  a  swarthy  face  with 
liiunour,  jjleasure,  content,  and  pei'fect  trust.  Mazam- 
boni a('cc[)ted  every  attention  as  his  by  riglit  Divine, 
but  no  smile  or  word  giected  us.      Was  the  man  deaf  and 


CHIEF  MAZAMBONI    VISITS    US.  881 

dumb  ?  No  ;  he  spoke  briefly  and  low  to  his  sub-chiefs,  and     1888. 
his  satellites  roared  with  bull  voices,  as  though  I  needed  '^^''''  '^ 
an  auricular  trumpet  to  hear,  and  the  sounds  stunned    ^^ 
me  as  though  they  were  rung  with  a  trip-hammer. 

"  My  friends,"  said  I,  "  my  head  will  crack  if  you  go 
on  thus  ;  besides,  you  know  wisdom  is  precious.  Why 
should  the  herd  hear  State  policy  ?  " 

''  Ah,  truly  ! "  said  one  sage  with  a  beard  as  white  as 
the  father  of  the  Commons  ought  to  have.  Nestor 
lowered  his  voice,  and  garrulously  rehearsed  the  history 
of  the  land,  described  the  eff'ect  created  upon  it  by  the 
column's  approach  in  December,  the  hasty  councils  that 
were  held,  and  the  rash  resolution  they  had  adopted, 
confessing  that  when  they  heard  there  were  white  men 
with  the  strangers  they  suspected  they  were  wrong 
in  continuing  their  hostile  attitude,  but  the  youthful 
warriors  had  been  too  impetuous  and  overruled  the 
cautious  counsels  of  the  ancients  of  their  tribe  ;  that  when 
they  had  seen  us  return  from  the  Nyanza  and  depart  in 
peace  towards  the  forest,  they  then  knew  that  the  Wara 
Sura,  as  we  were  believed  to  be,  would  never  have  re- 
turned so  soon  from  their  own  Lake,  l)ut  would  have 
crossed  the  Semliki  to  their  own  country,  and  then, 
when  they  had  heard  of  Malleju,  the  white  chief  of  the 
iron  canoe,  was  seeking  for  us,  they  were  convinced  they 
had  been  all  wrong."  "  But  never  mind,"  said  we, 
"  the  strangers  will  return  from  the  Kivira  (forest), 
and  we  shall  make  it  up  with  tliem.  If  they  seek  our 
friendship  they  shall  have  it,  and  Mazamboni's  blood 
shall  mingle  with  that  of  their  chief ;  and  we  shall  be 
one  people,  and  lo  1  you  have  come,  and  the  dreams  of 
our  wise  men  have  become  real  facts.  Mazamboni  sits 
as  a  brother  by  the  side  of  the  white  chief ;  let  us  see 
the  blood  mingle,  and  never  a  cloud  shall  come  between 
you  while  you  are  in  the  land  ;  the  belongings  of  Ma- 
zamboni are  yours,  his  warriors,  wives,  children,  the 
land  and  all  that  stands  on  the  face  of  it  are  yours. 
Have  I  said  well,  oh,  warriors  ?  " 

"Well  and  truly  you  have  spoken,"  murmured  the 
circles. 


382  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


u 


suma. 


"  Shall  Mazamboni  be  a  son  of  '  Bula  Matari  ? '  " 

April  14.       "He  shall." 

"  Shall  there  be  true  peace  between  us  and  the 
strangers  ?  " 

"  Yea,"  came  in  an  emotional  shout  from  the  mass. 

Then  the  mutual  right  hands  of  my  son,  Mr,  Jephson, 
who  volunteered  to  be  sacrificed,  were  clasped  crosswise 
over  the  crossed  knees,  the  native  Professor  of  Medicine 
made  a  slight  incision  in  his  arm  until  the  red  blood 
dyed  it.  My  Professor  of  Secret  Eitualism  caused  the 
dark  red  blood  of  Mazamboni  to  well  out  of  the 
vein,  and  as  the  liquid  of  life  flowed  and  dropped  over 
the  knees,  the  incantations  were  commenced  by  the  sage 
with  the  white  beard,  and  as  he  shook  the  pebbles  in 
the  magic  gourd  at  the  range  of  the  peak  opposite,  and 
at  the  horse-shoe  range  yonder  in  the  plains,  and  to 
eastward  and  westward  of  the  valley,  he  delivered  his 
terrible  curses  from  the  summit  of  Nzera-Kum,  and  all 
men  listened  unto  him  with  open  lips  : — 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  breaks  his  plighted  vow. 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  nourisheth  secret  hate. 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  turneth  his  back  against  his 
friend. 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  in  the  day  of  war  denieth  his 
brother. 

"  Cursed  is  he  who  deviseth  evil  to  his  friend  whose 
blood  has  become  one  with  his  own. 

"  JNlay  the  itch  make  him  loathsome,  and  the  hair  of 
liis  head  be  lost  l)y  the  mange  ;  may  the  adder  wait  for 
liim  by  tlie  patli,  and  tlie  lion  meet  him  on  his  way; 
may  the  leopard  in  tlic  darkness  besiege  his  house,  and 
his  wife  wlicn  she  draweth  water  from  the  stream,  be 
seized ;  may  the  barl)ed  arrow  pin  his  entrails,  and  the 
sharp  spear  be  dyed  in  his  vitals  ;  may  sickness  waste  his 
strcngtli,  and  his  days  be  nan-owed  ^^^th  disease  ;  may 
liis  limbs  fail  him  in  tJie  day  of  battle,  and  his  arms 
stiffen  willi  cramps,"  and  so  on,  invoking  every  evil  and 
disease  most  dreaded,  and  tlie  Zaiizil)ari  Professor  of 
Secret  Ritualism,  somewhat  duml)ibunded  at  first  at 
the   series   of  curses  delivered   so  volul)ly  l)y  Nestor, 


THE  MEDICINE   MEN,   NESTOR   AND   MURABO.  383 

seized  his  magic  gourd,  and  sliook  it  at  the  hills  and  the  isss. 
valley,  at  the  head  of  Mazamboni  with  awful  solemnity  ;  "^p"'  ^'*" 
at  Nestor  himself,  and  the  awe-struck  following  around,  sum^' 
and  outdid  Nestor,  from  perverted  ambition,  by  frenzy, 
voice,  and  gesture,  in  harmony  with  it ;  his  eyes  rolled 
wildly,  foam  came  from  his  lips ;  he  summoned  every 
blight  to  fall  upon  the  land  and  its  productions,  every 
damnable  agency  in  his  folk-lore  to  hound  Mazamboni 
for  ever ;  every  dark  and  potent  spirit  out  of  the  limbo 
of  evil  imao;ination  to  torture  him  in  his  wakine:  and 
sleeping  hours,  until  his  actions  were  so  fantastic,  his 
denunciation  so  outrageous,  his  looks  so  like  one 
possessed  with  a  demon,  that  everyone,  native  and 
Zanzibari,  broke  out  into  uncontrollable  laughter,  which 
caused  Murabo,  our  "  medicine  man,"  to  sober  instantly, 
and  to  say  in  Swahili  to  us,  with  a  conceited  shake  of 
the  head, 

"  Ay  !  master,  how  do  you  like  that  style  for  high 
acting  ?  "  which  reminded  me  of  nothing  so  much  as 
Hamlet  out-ranting  Laertes. 

Mazamlwni,  though  undoul)tedly  paramount  chief  of 
Undussuma,  seems  to  be  governed  by  an  unwritten  con- 
stitution. His  ministers  also  are  his  principal  kinsmen, 
who  conduct  foreign  and  home  policy  even  in  his 
presence,  so  that  in  affairs  of  government  his  voice  is 
seldom  heard.  Most  of  the  time  he  sat  silent  and 
reserved — one  might  almost  say  indifferent.  Thus  this 
unsophisticated  African  chief  has  discovered  that — 
whether  from  intuition  or  traditional  custom  it  is  hard 
to  say — it  is  best  to  divide  government.  If  the  prin- 
ciple has  been  derived  from  custom,  it  proves  that  from 
the  Albert  Nyanza  down  to  the  Atlantic  the  thousand 
triljes  of  the  Congo  basin  spring  from  one  parent  tribe, 
nation,  or  fcimily.  The  similarity  in  other  customs, 
physiognomy,  and  roots  of  languages,  lend  additional 
proofs  to  substantiate  this. 

We  discovered  that  the  chiefs,  as  well  as  the  lesser 
folk,  were  arrant  beggars,  and  too  sordid  in  mind  to 
recognise  a  generous  act.  Though  a  peace  was  strenu- 
ously sought  by  all,  yet   the  granting  of  it  seemed  to 


584 


IN  DARKEST  AFRTCA. 


Undus 
suma. 


1S88.     them  to  be  only  a  means  of  being  enriched  with  gifts 
April  14.  f^.Qj^  ^]jg  strangers.     Mazamboni,  even  after  a  long  day's 
work,  could  only  be  induced  to  give  more  than  a  calf 
and  five  goats  as  a  return  for  a  ten-guinea  rug,  a  bundle 
of  brass  wire,  and  ivory  horns  from  the  forest.     The 
chief  of  Urumangwa  and  Bwessa,  that  flourishing  settle- 
ment which  in  December 
had  so  astonished  us  with 
its     prosperity,     likewise 
thought  that  he  was  ex- 
ceedingly liberal   by  en- 
dowing us  with  a  kid  and 
two  fowls. 

Amono;  our  visitors  to- 
day  were  Gavira,  the  chief 
of  the  Eastern  Bavira, 
who  proclaimed  from  a  hill 
that  the  land  lay  at  our 
feet  when  we  were  return- 
ing from  the  Lake ;  and 
also  a  Mhuma  chief,  who 
wore  unblushingly  the 
fine  scarlet  cloth  of  which 
we  had  been  mulcted  in 
December  to  buy  peace. 
He  never  offered  a  return 
o:ift  t^o  lono;  deferred. 

We     discovered     that 

there  were   two   different 

and    distinctly     differing 

races  living  in  this  region 

in    harmony    w^ith    each 

other,  one  being  clearly  of 

fiido-African  f)i'igin,  possessing  exceedingly  fine  features, 

aquiline  noses,  slender  necks,  small  heads,  with  a  grand 

and  pi'oud  carriage  ;  an  old,  old  race,  possessing  splendid 

traditions,  and  ruled  by  inflexil)le  custom  which  would 

a<lmit  of  IK)   deviation.       Though  the  mnjority  have  a 

iiutty-browii  coinplcxioii,  some  even  of  a  ricli  dark  brown, 

the  purest  of  l  hen-  kind  j.-ese|uble  old  ivory  in  colour^  aud 


ONK   OF    iMAZ.\31i!UNl  S    WAUKIOKS. 


THE    WAHUMA   AND   BAVlliA    TlilBES.  885 

tlieir  skins  have  a  beautifully  soft  feel,  as  of  finest  satin,      isss. 
These  confine  themselves  solely  to  the  breeding  of  cattle,  ^^^'^  '"*" 
and  are  imbued  with  a  supercilious  contempt  for  the    ^Zml'. 
hoemen,  the  Bavira,  who  are  strictly  agricultural.     No 
proud  dukeling  in  England  could  regard  a  pauper  with 
more  pronounced  contempt  than  the  Wahuma  profess 
for  the  Bavira.     They  will  live  in  the  country  of  the 
Bavira,  but  not  in  their  villages ;  they  will  exchange 
their  dairy  produce  for  the  grain  and  vegeta})les  of  the 
hoemen,  but  they  wdll  never  give  their  daughters  in 
marriage  but  to  a  Mhuma  born.     Their  sons  may  possess 
children  by  Bavira  women,  but  that  is  the  utmost  con- 
cession.    Now  in  this  I  discover  the  true  secret  of  the 
varying   physiognomies,  and   the   explanations    in  the 
variation  of  facial  types. 

We  have  the  true  negroidal  cast  of  features  in  the 
far-away  regions  of  West  Africa,  with  which  this  proud 
high-caste  race  could  not  possibly  come  in  contact  during 
many  -centuries ;  we  have  the  primitive  races  of  the 
forest,  the  Akkas,  Wambutti,  Watwa,  and  Bushmen,  of 
which  the  Wambutti  are  by  for  the  handsomest ;  have 
the  Zulus,  the  Mafitte,  Watuta,  Waliha,  Warundi, 
Wanya-Euanda,  semi-Ethiopic  ;  we  have  the  Ethiopic, 
slightly  degraded,  except  in  the  aristocratic  families,  as 
in  the  Wahuma,  or,  as  they  are  variously  called,  Waima, 
Waclnvezi,  AVawitu,  and  the  Wataturu,  who  repre- 
sent two  human  streams,  one  coming  from  Ethiopia 
by  way  of  South-East  Galla  into  Unyoro  and  the  high 
pastoral  lake  regions,  and  the  other  flowing  direct  south. 
The  Victoria  Lake  lies  between  these  sections  of  superior 
African  humanity. 

A  Bavira  chief  complained  to  me  of  the  haughty 
contempt  with  which  the  Bavira  were  regarded  by  the 
Wahuma,  in  just  such  words  as  these  :  "  They  call  us 
hoemen,  and  laugh  to  scorn  the  sober  regularity  with 
which  we,  tilling  the  dark  soil,  live  through  our  lives 
in  honest  labour.  They  sweep  round  on  foraging 
excursions,  and  know  no  loved  and  fixed  home ;  they 
settle  down  wherever  they  are  tempted  (by  pasture),  and 
when  there  (is  trouble)  they  build  a  house  in  another  spot." 

VOL.    I.  Z 


Uzaaza. 


386  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  But  to  my  narrative,  as  I  may  deal  with  the  subject 
April  16.  fui-tiier  in  a  special  chapter.  On  the  16th,  furnished  by 
rr  Mazamboni  with  twelve  guides,  escorted  by  Gavira  and 

fifty  warriors,  accompanied  by  a  long  line  of  new  friends 
behind  the  rear  guard,  assisted  by  more  than  a  hundred 
carriers,  w^e  marched  to  the  territory  of  Gavira,  to  the 
village  where  w^e  had  rested  in  the  naked  hill-village, 
after  a  terrible  day  of  excitement,  on  the  12tli  of 
December.  We  w^ere  now  a  peaceful  procession,  with 
somewhat  of  a  triumphal  character.  For  at  every 
village  we  appeared  the  warriors  came  out  and  hailed 
us  with  friendly  greetings,  and  at  Makukuru,  the  name 
of  the  village  which  we  already  knew,  the  women  lu-lu- 
lued.  From  this  settlement  in  Uzanza  we  enjoyed  an 
extensive  view,  embracing  all  eastward  to  the  brow  of 
the  high  land  overlooking  the  gulf  of  the  Albert  Lake 
westward  as  far  as  Pisgah,  six  marches  distant  north- 
ward to  the  cones  of  Bemberri,  southward  the  hills  of 
the  Balegga  rose,  a  mile  off. 

The  Chief  of  the  Bavira  is  known  as  Gavira — an  he- 
reditary title,  though  his  name  is  Mpinga.  He  was  a 
pleasant  little  man,  but  stingy  ;  and  wdien  not  engaged 
in  State  councils,  talkative.  He  and  his  tribe  begged 
for  friendship  similar  to  that  which  w^as  established  with 
]\Iazamboni  ;  we  were  only  too  willing  to  accede — the 
conditions  being  that  he  should  be  hospitable  to  the 
Expedition  on  its  journeys  through  his  country.  Having 
halted  one  day  at  ]\I.'izaml)()ni's,  it  was  necessary  that  we 
should  <1(»  ('(lua]  lioiioui-  to  Gavira  ;  and  as  this  place  was 
only  two  short  marches,  or  one  long  march,  to  the 
Kyaiiza,  we  agreed. 

J II  tlif  evening,  two  natives  arrived  from  Mbiassi,  of 
the  trihe  lia-biassi,  chief  of  the  district  of  Kavalli,  which 
extended,  in  a  broad  strip,  dowui  to  the  Nyanza,  who  in- 
foniicd  me  that,  their  chief  possessed  a  small  packet, 
co\('red  witli  dark  cloth,  foi- me,  which  had  l)een  given 
liiin  by  ]\l[)igwa,  of  Nyamsassi,  who  had  ixn^eived  it  from 
a  white  man  known  to  them  as  Mdllcju. 

We  were  snironndecl  on  the  next  day  l)y  linndi'cds  of 
friendly  people,  who  seenied  unable   to  gaze  suHicieutly 


FRIENDSHIP    WITH  MPINOA.  387 

at  US.  They  therefore  placidly  squatted  on  their  1888. 
haunches,  quietly  contemplating  our  movements ;  the  ^^'"'  ^^" 
younger  members  were  deputed  by  the  old  to  gather 
fuel  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  to  bring  millet  grain  to 
camp.  For  trifling  gifts,  the  Zanzibaris  obtained  their 
most  devoted  service  for  building  their  huts,  and  carry- 
ing water  and  attending  to  their  fires,  grinding  their 
millet  grain  into  flour ;  while  our  men  contentedly  sat 
down,  encouraging  them  to  hard  labour  with  a  friendly 
nod  and  bland  smile,  some  bit  of  iron-work,  a  pinch 
of  beads,  a  cowrie  or  two,  or  a  wristlet  of  brass  wire. 
Every  man  picked  up  a  warm-hearted,  and  ingenious 
brother  ;  and,  excepting  in  cooking,  the  natives  were 
admitted  into  the  privilege  of  fast  friendship. 

The  chief  Gavira  was  robed,  in  the  afternoon,  in 
bright  scarlet  cloth  of  first-class  quality,  and  escorted 
around  the  camp,  Avitli  all  honour,  by  our  headmen,  who 
introduced  him  to  the  various  messes  with  high  tribute 
to  his  good  disposition.  He  was  afterwards  shown  a 
mirror,  at  which  he  and  his  elders  expressed  extra- 
ordinary astonishment  and  fright.  They  took  the 
reflection  of  their  own  faces  to  be  a  hostile  tribe  ad- 
vancing from  the  earth  towards  them,  and  started  to 
run  to  a  safer  distance  ;  but  instinctively  they  halted,  as 
they  saw  that  we  did  not  stir.  They  then  returned  on 
tip-toe,  as  if  to  ask  what  that  sudden  vision  of  black 
faces  could  possibly  have  been ;  for  the  mirror  had 
been  dropped  on  its  face  into  the  case.  In  answer 
to  their  mute  appeal,  it  was  opened  again,  and  they 
gazed  at  it  fixedly.  They  whispered  to  one  another^ 
"  Why,  the  faces  resemble  our  own  !  "  They  were  told 
that  what  they  saw  was  a  reflection  of  their  own  remark- 
ably prepossessing  features  ;  and  Mpinga,  with  pride, 
blushed  darkly  at  the  compliment.  Perceiving  that  he 
could  be  trusted  with  it  without  shock  to  his  nerves,  it 
was  put  into  his  hand  ;  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  how 
quickly  personal  vanity  increased  ;  his  elders  crowded 
around  him,  and  all  grouped  around  and  were  pleased  to 
note  how  truthfully  the  mirror  reflected  each  facial 
characteristic.     "  See  that  scar — it  is  just  and  exact ; 


Uzaiiza. 


388  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     but  lo  1  look  at  your  broad  nose,  Mpinga ;  why,  it  is 
Ap"i  18.  pgj^fgg^  J     ^y^  .^j^(J  1qq]j  at  that  big  feather  ;  it  actually 

waves  I  It  is  too — too  wonderful  !  What  can  it  be 
made  of?  It  is  like  water  ;  but  it  is  not  soft  by  any 
means  ;  and  on  the  back  it  is  black.  Ah,  but  we  have 
seen  a  thing  to-day  that  our  fathers  never  saw,  eh  ?  " 

Uzanza  exposed,  and  open  to  every  blast  from  each 
quarter  of  heaven,  will  be  remembered  for  a  long  time. 
As  the  sun  set,  the  cold  wdnds  blew  from  lakeward,  and 
smote  us  sorely  ;  w^e  w^ere  so  accustomed  to  the  equable 
temperature  of  the  forest,  and  so  poor  in  clothing.  One 
officer  armed  himself  with  his  waterj^roof ;  another  put 
on  his  ulster  ;  and  still  the  wdnd  penetrated  to  the 
marrow  ;  and  there  was  no  warmth  but  in  the  snug  bee- 
hive huts  of  the  Bavira — wdiither  we  retired. 

Instead  of  pursuing  along  our  first  course  to  the  Lake, 
we  struck  north-east  to  the  village  of  Kavalli,  where  the 
mysterious  packet  was  said  to  be.  The  grass  was  short 
cropped  hj  numerous  herds  of  cattle,  and  covered  every 
inch  and  made  it  resemble  a  lawn,  save  where  the  land 
dipped  down  into  the  miniature  canons,  which  had  been 
scooped  out  by  centuries  of  rain. 

As  we  traversed  the  smiling  land,  hailed,  and  greeted, 
and  welcomed,  by  the  kindly  Bavira,  we  could  not  forbear 
thinking  how  different  all  this  was  from  the  days  when 
we  drove  through  noisy  battalions  of  Bavira,  Babiassi, 
and  Balegga,  each  urging  his  neighbours,  and  whooping 
and  liallooing  every  one  to  our  extermination,  with  the 
(juick  i)lay  of  light  on  crowds  of  flashing  spears,  and 
yard-h)ng  aiTows  sailing  through  the  air  to  meet  us  ;  and 
now  we  had  1  57  Bavii'a  actually  in  fi'ont  of  the  advance 
guard,  as  many  behind  the  rear  guard,  while  our  90 
loads  had  been  distributed  among  A'oluntary  carriers  who 
thought  it  an  honour  to  be  2)<>rters  to  the  same  men  whom 
they  had  lioun(h'(l  so  mercilessly  a  few  months  previous. 

S(K)ii  after  the  ai'iival  of  the  now  numei'ous  colunm 
before  tlu;  thorny  zeriba  of  Kavalli,  the  chief,  a  hand- 
some young  Mhuma,  with  regular  features,  tall,  slender, 
and  wondei'fully  composed  in  manner,  a])peared,  to  show 
us  where  we   might  camp.      To  sueh    as   chose   to  avail 


tVE  BEACH  KAVALLL 


S89 


themselves  of  shelter  in  his  village  he  accorded  free  per-     isss. 
mission  ;  and  on  being  asked  for  the  packet  of  MallejUj  ^^''^^  \* 
he  produced  it ;  and,  as  he  handed  it  to  me,  said  that  '^"''^^"''* 
only  his  two  young  men,  of  all  the  country,  knew  that 
he  possessed  it ;  and  anxiously  asked  if  he  had  not  done 
an  excellent  thing  in  keeping  the  secret  safe. 


KAVALLI,    CHIEF    OF    THK    BA-BIASSI. 


Untying  the  cover,  which  was  of  American  oil-cloth,  I 
found  the  following  letter  : — 

Dear  Sir,^ 

Rumours  having  been  afloat  of  white  men  liaving  made  their 
apparition  somewhere  south  of  tliis  Lake,  I  have  come  here  in  quest  of 
news.    A  start  to  the  furthest  end  of  the  Lake,  which  T  could  reach  by 


890  IN   T)  ARK  EST  AFRICA. 

1888.      steamer,  has  been  without  success,  the  people  being  greatly  afraid  of 

April  18.    Kabba  Eega  people,  and  their  chiefs  being  under  instructions  to  conceal 

J.      ,,.,     whatever  they  know. 

ava  1  s.       Xo-day,  however,  has  arrived  a  man  from  Chief  Mpigwa,  of  Nyamsassi 

country,  who  tells  me  that  a  wife  of  the  said  chief  has  seen  you  at 

Undussuma,  her  birthplace,  and  that  his  chief  volunteers  to  send  a  letter 

of  mine  to  you.     I  send,  therefore,  one  of  our  allies,  Chief  Mogo,  with  the 

messenger  to  Cliief  Mpigwa's,  requesting   him  to  send  Mogo  and  this 

letter,  as  well  as  an  Arabic  one,  to  you,  or  to  retain  Mogo  and  send  the 

letter  ahead. 

Be  ijleased,  if  this  reaches  you,  to  rest  ivhere  you  are,  and  to  inform  me 
by  letter,  or  one  of  your  people,  of  your  wishes.  I  could  easily  come  to 
Chief  Mpigwa,  and  my  steamer  and  boats  would  bring  you  here.  At  the 
arrival  of  your  letter  or  man,  I  shall  at  once  start  for  Nyamsassi,  and 
from  there  we  could  concert  our  further  designs. 

Beware  of  Kabba  Eega's  men !     He  has  expelled  Captain  Casati. 

Believe  me,  dear  Sir,  to  be 

Tnnfrnvn  H  nl-P   Albprt^  *  ^^"^"^  ^'^^^  faithfully, 

lunguiu  (Ijake  Albert;.  rSio-iifd)         Dr  Emin. 

25/3/88.     8  P.M.  (.toifenm;        vi.  x^mm. 

The  letter  was  translated  to  our  men,  upon  hearing 
which,  they  became  mad  with  enthusiasm  ;  nor  were  the 
natives  of  Kavalli  less  affected,  though  not  with  such 
boisterous  joy,  for  they  perceived  that  the  packet 
they  had  guarded  with  such  jealous  care  was  the  cause 
of  this  happiness. 

Food  poured  in  gratuitously  from  many  chiefs,  and  I 
directed  Mbiassi  to  inform  the  districts  around  that  a 
contribution  from  each  tribe  or  section  would  be  gladly 
received. 

On  the  20th,  I  despatched  Mr.  Jephson  and  Surgeon 
Parke,  with  50  rifles  and  two  native  guides  of  Kavalli, 
to  convey  the  steel  boat,  Advance,  down  to  Lake  Albert. 
I  am  informed  ])y  the  guides  that  Mswa  station  was 
distant  two  days  only,  byl)oat  sailing  along  the  western 
shore.  Mr.  Jephson  was  entrusted  with  the  following 
letter  to  Emin  Pasha  : — 

*  When,  after  reaching  Zanzibar,  I  read  Emin  Pacha's  letter  to  the 
Kditor  of  I'etermann's  '  Mitb^ilungen '  (see  No.  4  of  tlio  '(Jotha  (xcog. 
Journal  '),  dated  '25tli  Marcli,  1HS8  (the  same  dat(>  that  the  above  letter 
was  writt(!n),  \vlii('li  conchided  with  tlie  signilicant  words:  "If  Htauley 
docs  not  como  soon,  wcs  are  lost,"  most  curious  thonglits  came  into  my 
mind  which  tli(!  iiitc^Iligent  reacler  will  find  no  diHicnlty  in  guessing 
llai)j>ily,  lio\v('V((r,  tlu;  Pasha  kept  his  own  seeri^t  until  1  was  far  away 
from  Jiagumoyo,  and  I  was  Mnal)Ie  to  in(|uire  from  him  ju'rsonally  what 
were  his  motives  for  not  coming  to  Kavalli,  December  11th,  1887,  the 
date  ho  cxpecttul  us;  for  remaining  sil  nt  two  months  and  a  half  in  his 
own  stations  after  that  date,  ami  tluin  wriiing  two  sueli  lettiu-s  as  the 
one  above  and  that  to  l*('t(!rmui:n's  Magazine  on  the  same  date. 


LETTER    TO   EMIN  PASfTA.  391 

Dear  Sib,—  Aj)ril  ISth,  188S.  1888. 

Your  letter  was  pnt  into  my  hands  hy  Chief  Mbiassi,  of  Kavalli  ' 

(on  the  plateau),  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  it  gave  us  all  great   '**'^*''** 
pleasure. 

I  sent  a  long  letter  to  you  from  Zanzibar  by  carriers  to  Uganda, 
informing  you  of  my  mission  and  of  my  purpose.  Lest  you  may  not 
have  received  it,  I  will  recapitulate  in  brief  its  princi])al  contents.  It 
informed  you  first  that,  in  compliance  with  instructions  from  the  Relief 
Committee  of  London,  I  was  leading  an  Expedition  for  your  relief.  Half 
of  the  fund  necessary  was  subscribed  by  the  Egyptian  Government,  the 
other  half  by  a  few  English  friends  of  yours. 

It  also  informed  you  that  the  instructions  of  the  Egyptian  Government 
were  to  guide  you  out  of  Africa,  if  you  were  willing  to  leave  Africa;  if 
not,  then  I  was  to  leave  such  ammunition  as  we  had  brought  with  us  for 
you,  and  yoi;  and  yoiir  people  were  then  to  consider  yourselves  as  out  of 
the  service  of  Egypt,  and  your  i^ay  was  to  cease  iipon  such  notification 
being  given  by  you.  If  you  were  willing  to  leave  Africa,  then  the  pay  of 
yourself,  officers  and  men,  was  to  continue  until  you  had  landed  in  Egypt. 

It  further  informed  you  that  you  yourself  was  promoted  from  Bey  to 
Pasha. 

It  also  informed  you  that  I  i:)roposed,  on  account  of  the  hostility  of 
Uganda,  and  political  reasons,  to  ajjioroach  you  by  way  of  the  Congo,  and 
make  Kavalli  my  objective  point. 

I  presume  you  have  not  received  that  letter,  from  the  total  ignorance 
of  the  natives  at  Kavalli  about  you,  as  they  only  knew  of  Mason's  visit, 
which  took  place  ten  years  ago. 

We  first  arrived  here  after  some  desperate  fighting  on  the  14th  Decem- 
ber last.  "VVe  stayed  two  days  on  the  shore  of  the  Lake  near  Kavalli, 
inquiring  of  every  native  that  we  could  approach  if  they  knew  of  you,  and 
were  always  answered  in  the  negative.  As  we  had  left  our  boat  a  month's 
march  behind,  we  could  get  no  canoe  by  fair  jiurchase  or  force,  we  resolved 
to  return,  obtain  our  boat,  and  carry  it  to  the  Nyanza.  This  we  have 
done,  and  in  the  meantime  we  constructed  a  little  fort  fifteen  days'  march 
from  here,  and  stored  such  goods  as  we  could  not  carry,  and  marched 
here  with  our  boat  for  a  second  trial  to  relieve  you.  This  time  the  most 
violent  natives  have  received  us  with  open  arms,  and  escorted  us  by 
hundreds  on  the  way.  The  country  is  now  open  for  a  jjeaceful  march 
from  Nyamsassi  to  our  fort. 

Now  I  await  your  decision  at  Nyamsassi.  As  it  is  difficult  to  supply 
rations  to  our  people  on  the  Nyanza  })lain,  I  hope  we  shall  not  have  to 
wait  long  for  it.  On  the  plateau  above  there  is  abundance  of  food  and 
rattle,  but  on  the  lower  j)lain,  bordering  the  Nyanza,  the  peoj^le  are 
mainly  fishermen. 

If  this  letter  reaches  you  before  you  leave  your  place,  I  should  advise 
you  to  bring  in  your  steamer  and  boats,  rations  sufficient  to  subsist  us 
while  we  await  your  removal,  say  about  12,000  or  15,000  lbs.  of  grain, 
millet,  or  Indian  corn,  &c.,  which,  if  your  steamer  is  of  any  capacity,  you 
can  easily  bring. 

If  you  are  already  resolved  on  leaving  Africa,  I  would  si:ggest  that 
you  should  bring  with  you  all  your  cattle,  and  every  native  willing  to 
follow  you.  Nubar  Pasha  hoped  you  would  bring  all  your  Makkaraka, 
and  leave  not  one  behind  if  you  could  help  it,  as  he  would  retain  them 
all  in  the  service. 

The  letters  from  the  Ministry  of  War,  and  from  Nubar  Pasha,  which 
I  bring,  will  infoiTa  you  fully  of  the  intention  of  the  Egy])tian  Govern- 
ment, and  perhaps  you  had  better  wait  to  see  them  before  taking  any 


392 


m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1888. 
April  18. 

Kavalli's. 


action.  I  simply  let  you  know  briefly  about  the  intentions  of  the 
Government,  that  you  may  turn  the  matter  over  in  your  mind,  and  be 
cnaliled  to  come  to  a  decision. 

I  hear  you  have  abundance  of  cattle  with  you ;  three  or  four  milk 
cows  would  be  very  grateful  to  us  if  you  can  bring  them  in  your  steamer 
and  boats. 

I  have  a  number  of  letters,  some  books  and  maps  for  you,  and  a 
packet  for  Captain  Casati.  I  fear  to  send  them  by  my  boat,  lest  you 
should  start  from  your  place  upon  some  native  rumour  of  our  having 
arrived  here,  and  you  should  miss  her.  Besides,  I  am  not  quite  sure 
that  the  boat  will  reach  you;  I  therefore  keep  them  until  I  am  assured 
they  can  be  placed  in  your  hands  safely. 

We  shall  have  to  forage  far  and  near  for  food  while  we  await  your 
attendance  at  Nyamsassi,  but  you  may  depend  upon  it  we  shall  endeavour 
to  stay  here  until  we  see  you. 

All  with  me  join  in  sending  you  our  best  wishes,  and  are  thankfvd  that 
you  are  safe  and  well. 

Believe  me,  dear  Pasha, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 
Henry  M.  Stanley. 
Commanding  Relief  Expedition 
His  Excellency  Emin  Pasha, 
Governor  of  Equatorial  Provinces,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

During  our  halt  at  Kavalli  several  hundred  natives 
from   the  districts  round  al^out  paid  us  friendly  visits, 

and  the  chiefs  and  elders 
tendered  their  submission  to 
me.  They  said  the  country 
was  mine,  and  whatever  my 
commands  might  be,  would 
be  promptly  done.  By  the 
ready  way  food  was  brought 
in,  there  was  no  reason  to 
doubt  their  sincerity,  though 
as  yet  there  was  no  necessity 
to  take  it  too  litei-ally.  So 
long  as  we  were  not  starving, 
nothing  could  happen  to 
disturb  the  peaceful  rela- 
tions commenced  with  Ma- 
zamboni.  According  to  my 
means  each  chief  received  a 
})r('sent  of  cloth,  beads,  cow- 
ries, and  wire.  Mbiassi  fur- 
nislied  me  with  a  quart  of 
milk  daily  in  a  wooden  bowl  of  this  ^JJittern. 


MIf-K    VKHSKI,    or     llll.    WAIIIMA. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE    MEETING    WITH    EMIN    PASHA. 

Onr  camp  at  Bundi  —  Mbiassi,  the  chief  of  Kavalli  —  The  Balegga 
granaries  —  Chiefs  Katonza  and  Komnbi  express  contrition — The 
kites  at  Badzwa — A  note  from  Jephson — Emin,  Casati  and  Jeplison 
walk  into  our  camp  at  old  Kavalli — Descriptions  of  Emin  Pasha 
and  Captain  Casati — The  Pasha's  Soudanese — Our  Zanzibaris — The 
steamer  Khedive — Baker  and  the  Blue  Mountains — Drs.  Junker  and 
Felkin's  descriptions  of  Eniin^Proximity  of  Kabba  Eega — Emin  and 
the  Equatorial  Provinces — Dr.  Junker's  report  of  Emin  —I  discuss 
with  Emin  our  future  proceedings — Captain  Casati's  plans — Our 
camp  and  provisions  at  Nsabe — Kabba  Rega's  treatment  of  Captain 
Casati  and  Mohammed  Biri — Mabruki  gored  by  a  buftalo — Emin 
Pasha  and  his  soldiers — My  propositions  to  Emin  and  his  answer — 
Emin's  position  —  Mahommet  Achmet  —  The  Congo  State  —  The 
Foreign  OflBce  despatches. 

On  the  25tli  we  departed  from  Kavalli  and  camped  at  1888. 
Bundi,  at  an  altitude  of  4,900  feet  above  the  sea.  The  Aprii2a 
village  proper  was  situated  400  feet  higher,  on  the  crest 
of  one  of  those  ranges  of  hills  which  form  the  dividing- 
line  between  the  Congo  basin  and  that  of  the  Nile. 
From  its  folds  westerly  escaped  the  first  infant  streams 
which  flowed  into  East  Ituri.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
narrow  rocky  spine  issued  streams  which  dropped  into 
the  gulf  of  the  Albert.  Our  camp  was  situated  on  the 
very  brow  of  the  plateau,  in  full  view  of  a  large  portion 
of  the  south  end  of  the  Albert. 

Mbiassi,  the  handsome  chief  of  Kavalli,  accompanied 
us  to  do  the  honours  of  his  tribe  to  his  guests.  He 
commanded  the  people  of  Bundi  to  hurry  forward  an 
ample  contribution  to  the  camp,  and  also  despatched 
messengers  to  the  redoubtable  Komubi,  chief  of  the 
Eastern  Balegga,  who  seemed  to  be  considered  by  these 
stubborn  foes  of  Kabba  Rega  as  their  "  Only  General," 


394  IN  DARKEST  AFMIOA. 

1888.     with  a  message  not  to  lag  behind  in  supplying  with 
April  25.  £qq^  ^  jj-j^j^^  ^,jjQ  might  be  induced  to  lend  his  aid  in 

^"°'^'*  punishing  Kabba  Rega  some  day.  Mbiassi,  commonly 
called  Kavalli  by  his  people,  after  his  district,  was  a 
diplomat. 

On  the  26th  we  descended  the  plateau  slope  once 
more  in  2  hours  45  minutes — and  at  the  foot  of  it  we 
were  quartered  in  the  Balegga  village  of  Badzwa,  2,300 
feet  below  Bundi  camp.  The  Balegga  had  decamped, 
but  as  it  was  Kavalli's  property,  he  assumed  charge,  and 
distributed  corn  from  its  granaries,  according  to  the 
needs  of  our  united  followers,  sufficient  for  hve  days' 
rations. 

Messengers  from  Katonza,  the  chief  who  had  declined 
our  friendship  on  December  14th,  who  had  refused  our 
proffered  gifts,  who  had  sent  his  men  to  throw  arrows 
into  our  bivouac  of  the  16th,  and  murdered  our  two 
sick  men,  came  to  say  that  he  was  "  dying  "  to  see  me. 
He  had  now  heard  that  Mazamboni,  Gavira,  Kavalli, 
and  many  others  were  hand-and-glove  with  the  strangers 
who  had  humbly  begged  a  drink  of  water  from  his 
people,  and  he  had  hastened  to  make  reparation,  like 
Shimei  the  Benjamite.  Before  I  could  frame  an  answer, 
stalwart  Komubi,  the  "  only  general,"  had  descended 
from  the  Balegga  Hills  with  a  white  cow,  several  goats, 
and  bundles  of  sweet  potatoes,  besides  many  jars  of 
potent  beer.  It  was  Komubi  and  his  stubborn  fellows 
who  had  clung  to  the  rear  guard  on  the  13tli  December 
with  such  persistency,  and  had  attempted  a  night 
attack.  He  now  frankly  came  to  express  contrition  and 
soiTow  that  he  ]iad  mistaken  us  for  Kal)l)a  Bega's 
bandits,  and  to  surrender  his  country  wholly  into  my 
hands,  and  his  life,  if  I  so  wished  it.  With  this  bold 
cliicftain  we  made  friends  (juickly  enough,  and  after  a 
lengthy  interview  parted.  To  Katonza  we  replied  that 
we  would  think  of  his  message. 

I  now  tui'ii  to  the  diary  form. 

Au( I  list  '17  th. — Halt  at  ])adzwa.  The  kites  are  very 
bold  in  this  nciglibonrliood.  >^eeing  tlieir  daring,  we 
amused  ourselves  with    putting  pieces  of  meat  on  the 


NOTE  RECEIVED   FROM  JEPHSON.  395 

roof  of  a  hut  within  arm's  length  of  a  man  standing  by,  isss. 
and  each  time  the  kite  succeeded  in  escaping  with  the  ^p"'  ^^• 
meat,  as  the  bird,  sailing  and  wheeling  round  the  spot, 
seemed  to  know  when  the  attention  was  relaxed,  and 
that  moment  dropped  plump  upon  the  meat,  and  sailed 
away  with  it  fast  gi-ipj^ed  before  the  outstretched  hand 
could  seize  him. 

Our  hunter,  "Three  o'clock,"  went  out,  and  returned 
with  the  meat  of  a  fine  kudu  he  had  shot. 

April  28th. — Halt.  Wadi  Mabruki,  another  hunter, 
went  out  this  morning  to  compete  at  game-hunting  with 
"  Three  o'clock,"  and  in  the  afternoon  he  and  his  followers 
brought  three  young  roan  antelope. 

Aj>ril  29th. — At  8  A.M.,  as  we  were  about  to  break 
camp  to  march  to  the  Lake,  a  native  guide  appeared  with 
a  note  from  Jephson,  dated  April  23rd,  which  stated 
that  he  had  safely  reached  Mswa,  a  station  of  Emin 
Pasha's,  and  that  messengers  had  been  despatched  by 
the  Commandant,  Shukri  Agha,  to  apprise  Emin  Pasha 
of  our  appearance  on  the  lake.  A  basket  of  onions — a 
gift  from  Shukri  Agha — accompanied  the  note. 

At  9  A.M.  we  set  out  for  the  Lake.  Two  hours  later 
we  were  camped  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
shore,  not  far  from  the  bivouac  ground  occupied  by  us 
on  the  1  Gth  December,  and  on  the  site  of  old  Kavalli,  as 
the  chief  showed  us.  A¥e  had  five  days'  rations  of  grain 
with  us,  and  meat  could  be  procured  from  the  plain 
l)ehind  us,  as  it  swarmed  with  large  game  of  various 
kinds. 

From  my  tent-door,  at  4.30  P.M.,  I  saw  a  dark  object 
loom  up  on  the  north-east  horizon  of  the  lake.  I  thought 
it  might  be  a  native  canoe,  or  perhaps  the  steel  boat 
Advance  returning,  but  a  binocular  revealed  the  dimen- 
sions of  a  vessel  much  larger  than  a  boat  or  canoe  could 
possibly  be,  and  presently  a  dark  puff  of  smoke  issuing 
from  it  declared  her  to  be  a  steamer.  An  hour  later  we 
could  distinguish  a  couple  of  boats  in  tow,  and  at 
6.30  P.M.  the  steamer  dropped  anchor  in  the  baylet  of 
Nyamsassi,  in  shore  of  the  island  of  that  name.  Scores 
of .  our  people  were  on  the  beach  in  front  of  our  camp 


396  IN  DARKEST  AFtttCA. 

1888.     firing  guns,   and  waving  signals,-  but  though  we  were 
April  29.  Qjj]y  ^^Q  miles  from  the  island,   no    one   appeared  to 

Albert         ■>     ^  ^^ 

Nyanza.     ODServe  US. 

Ardent  messengers  were  therefore  sent  along  the  shore 
to  inform  the  party  on  board  of  our  presence,  and  these 
were,  unhappily,  so  exuberant,  that  as  they  fired  their 
rifles  to  give  notice,  they  were  fired  at  in  return  by  the 
Soudanese,  who  naturally  enough  took  the  wild  figures 
for  Kabba  Rega's  people.  However,  no  harm  was  done ; 
the  boat's  crew  distinguished  their  comrades'  cries,  the 
word  was  passed  that  the  people  on  shore  were  friends, 
and  the  boat  was  made  ready  to  convey  our  visitors  to 
the  beach  near  the  camp.  At  eight  o'clock,  amid  great 
rejoicing,  and  after  repeated  salutes  from  rifles,  Emin 
Pasha  himself  walked  into  camp,  accompanied  by  Captain 
Casati  and  Mr.  Jephson,  and  one  of  the  Pasha's  ofticers. 
I  shook  hands  w4th  all,  and  asked  which  w^as  Emin 
Pasha  ?  Then  one  rather  small,  slight  figure,  wearing 
glasses,  arrested  my  attention  by  saying  in  excellent 
English,  "  I  owe  you  a  thousand  thanks,  Mr.  Stanley ;  I 
really  do  not  know  how  to  express  my  thanks  to  you." 

"  Ah,  you  are  Emin  Pasha.  Do  not  mention  thanks, 
but  come  in  and  sit  down.  It  is  so  dark  out  here  we 
cannot  see  one  another." 

At  the  door  of  the  tent  we  sat,  and  a  wax  candle  threw 
light  upon  the  scene.  I  expected  to  see  a  tall  thin  mili- 
tary-looking figure,  in  fiidcd  Egyptian  uniform,  but  in- 
stead of  it  I  saw  a  small  spare  figure  in  a  well-kept  fez 
and  a  clean  suit  of  snowy  cotton  drilling,  well-ii'onedand 
of  perfect  fit.  A  dark  grizzled  beard  bordered  a  face  of  a 
Magyar  cast,  thougli  a  j);iir  of  spectacles  lent  it  some- 
what an  Italian  or  Spanisli  appearance.  '^I'hei'c  was  not  a 
,  trace  on  it  of  ill-health  or  anxiety  ;  it  ratlier  indicated 
o;o()d  coinlition  of  body  and  peace  of  mind.  Captain 
(Jasati,  on  the  otlier  hand,  though  younger  in  years, 
looked  gaunt,  care-worn,  anxious,  and  aged.  He  like- 
wise was  dressed  in  clean  cottons,  witli  an  l^jgyjitian  fez 
for  a  iiead-eo\-ering. 

I)iiei"  sniiiiii.iiies  of  our  incidents  of  travel,  events  in 
Europe,   occur  relief's   in    the  Ec^uatorial    Provinces,  and 


EMIN  AND    GAFT.    CAS  ATI  ARRIVE  AT  OUR    CAMP.     399 

matters  personal,  occupied  the  best  part  of  two  hours,     1888. 
after  which,  to  terminate  the  happy  meeting,  five  half-  ^p"^  ^^• 
pint  bottles  of  champagne— a  present  from  my  friend   /ya^nzl. 
Greshoff,  of  Stanley  Pool — were  uncorked  and  duly  drank 
to  the  continued  good  healths  of  Emin  Pasha  and  Cap- 
tain Casati.* 

The  party  were  conducted  to  the  boat,  which  conveyed 
them  to  the  steamer. 

April  30th. — Marched  Expedition  to  Nsabe,  a  fine  dry 
grassy  spot,  fifty  yards  from  Lake  and  about  three  miles 
from  Nyamsassi  Island.  As  we  passed  the  anchorage  of 
the  steamer  Khedive,  we  found  a  detachment  of  the 
Pasha's  Soudanese  drawn  up  on  the  Lake  shore  on  parade 
to  salute  us  with  music.  The  Pasha  was  dressed  in  his 
uniform  coat,  and  appeared  more  of  a  military  man  than 
last  night. 

Our  Zanzibaris,  by  the  side  of  these  upright  figures, 
seemed  altogether  a  beggarly  troop,  and  more  naked 
than  ever.  But  I  was  not  ashamed  of  them.  It  was  by 
their  aid,  mean  as  they  appeared,  that  we  had  triumphed 
over  countless  difiiculties,  and  though  they  did  not 
understand  drill,  nor  could  assume  a  martial  pose,  the 
best  of  these  Soudanese  soldiers  were  but  children  to 
them  for  the  needs  of  a  Relief  Expedition.  After  this 
little  ceremony  was  over  I  delivered  to  the  Pasha  thirty- 
one  cases  of  Remington  ammunition,  and  I  went  aboard 
the  steamer,  where  I  breakfasted  on  millet  cake  fried  in 
synip,  and  a  glass  of  new  milk. 

The  steamer  proved  to  be  the  Khedive,  built  by 
Samuda  Brothers  in  1869,  and  is  about  ninety  feet  long 
by  seventeen  or  eighteen  feet  wide ;  draught  five  feet. 
Though  nearly  twenty  years  old,  she  is  still  serviceable, 
though  slow.  The  upper  works  look  well  enough,  but 
she  is  much  patched  below  water,  I  am  told. 

On  board,  besides  the  Pasha,  were  Casati,  Vita  Hassan, 
a  Tunisian  apothecary,  some  Egyptian  clerks,  an  Egyp- 

*  The  following  entries  must  be  read  while  bearing  in  mind  that 
thirty-five  days  previously  the  Pasha  had  written  to  the  Editor  of  Peter- 
mann's  '  Mitteilungen '  a  letter,  which  he  concluded  with  the  sigaificant 
words,  " If  Stanley  does  7iQi  QOfn^  swn,  vje  axe  l.Q^tx' 


400  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  tian  lieutenant,  and  some  forty  Soudanese  soldiers,  be- 
Apiii  30.  gj(jgg  ^  f^j^3  crew.  Sometimes,  from  the  familiar  sounds 
Nyanza.  tsard  during  moments  of  abstraction,  I  fancied  myself  at 
Alexandria  or  on  the  Lower  Congo  ;  but,  looking  up,  and 
taking  a  sweeping  view  around,  I  became  assured  that  I 
was  on  board  of  a  steamer  afloat  on  Lake  Albert.  As  we 
move  slowly  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shore 
northward,  the  lofty  mass  of  the  plateau  of  Unyoro  is  to 
our  right,  and  to  our  left  is  an  equally  formidable  plateau 
wall,  the  ascents  and  descents  of  w^hich  we  know  so  well. 
By  a  glance  at  the  mass  of  Unyoro,  which  is  darkly  blue, 
I  see  the  reason  Baker  gave  the  name  of  Blue  Mountains 
to  our  plateau  wall,  for  were  we  steaming  along  the 
Unyoro  shore  the  warm  vapour  would  tint  our  plateau 
wall  of  similar  colour.  When  we  have  left  Nyamsassi 
Island  astern,  a  damp  sheet  of  rock,  wetted  by  the  stream 
we  crossed  yesterday  in  our  descent,  glistens  in  the  sun 
like  a  mirror,  and  makes  it  resemble  a  clear  falling  sheet 
of  water.  Hence  Baker  gave  it  the  name  of  a  Cascade, 
as  seen  by  him  from  the  eastern  side. 

Dr.  Junker  and  Dr.  Felkin,  especially  in  the  Graphic 
numbers  of  January,  1887,  made  us  expect  a  nervous, 
wiry,  tall  man  of  six  feet,  or  thereabouts,  but  in  reality 
Emin  Pasha  does  not  exceed  5  feet  7  inches  in 
height.  I  remember  that  the  former  was  anxious 
that  the  trousers  ordered  in  Cairo  for  his  friend  should 
be  long  enough  in  the  extremities.  About  six  inches 
were  cut  off  the  legs  before  they  fitted.  He  tells  me  he 
is  forty-eight  years  old.  In  appearance  he  does  not 
indicate  such  an  age ;  his  l)eard  is  dark  almost  to  black- 
ness, wliile  his  activity  would  befit  a  man  of  thirty  or 
thirty-five. 

The  Pasha  tells  me  that  lie  has  visited  Monbuttu,  but, 
like  the  travellers  Schweinfurth,  Casati,  Piaggia,  and 
Junker,  he  has  not  made  any  astronomical  observations, 
but  (joiifiucd  himself  solely  to  the  compass  survey.  The 
meteorology  of  lliis  climate,  however,  has  received  greater 
attention,  as  mi^lit  1)C  expected  from  his  methodical 
habitude  of  mind. 

About  noon  we  niichorcd  off  Nsabe',  and  I  went  ashore 


J.   LONG    CONVERSATION    WITH    EM  IN.  401 

to  bestir  the  men  to  make  a  respectable  camp  suitable     isss. 
for  a  protracted  halt  in  a  country  that  we  might  well  ^f'"'  ^^' 
call  dangerous  owing  to  the  proximity  of  Kabba  Rega.     ^^^^''' 
That  king,  having  thrown  down  the  gage  of  battle  to 
Emin  Pasha,  might   fancy  himself  strong  enough,  with 
his  1,500  rifles,  to  test  our  strength;  or  the  Waganda, 
during  their  raids,  might  hear  of  our  vicinity  and  be 
tempted  by  expected  booty  to  make  a  visit  to  us., 

This  evening  Emin  Pasha  came  ashore,  and  we  had  a 
lengthy  conversation,  but  after  all  I  am  unable  to 
gather  in  the  least  what  his  intentions  may  be.  I  have 
delivered  to  him  his  mails,  the  Khedive's  "  High  Order," 
and  Nubar  Pasha's  letter. 

I  had  an  idea  that  I  might  have  to  wait  about  two 
weeks,  when  we  would  all  march  to  the  plateau  and 
occupy  a  suitable  spot  in  Undusuma,  where,  after  seeing 
everything  done  for  complete  security  and  comfort,  I 
could  leave  him  to  return  to  the  assistance  of  the  rear 
column.  On  being  re-united  we  could  resume  our 
march  within  a  few  days  for  Zanzibar  ;  but  the  Pasha's 
manner  is  ominous.  When  I  propose  a  return  to  the 
sea  to  him,  he  has  the  habit  of  tapping  his  knee,  and 
smiling  in  a  kind  of  "  We  shall  see "  manner.  It  is 
evident  he  finds  it  difficult  to  renounce  his  position  in  a 
country  where  he  has  performed  viceregal  functions. 

After  laying  before  him  at  some  length  the  reasons  of 
the  abandonment  of  the  Equatorial  Provinces  by  Egypt 
he  replied,  "  I  see  clearly  the  difficulty  Egypt  is  in  as 
regards  retention  of  these  provinces,  but  I  do  not  see  so 
clearly  my  way  of  returning.  The  Khedive  has  written 
to  me  that  the  pay  of  myself,  officers  and  men  will  be  , 
settled  by  the  Paymaster  General  if  we  return  to  Egypt, 
but  if  we  stay  here  we  do  so  at  our  own  risk  and  on 
our  own  responsibility,  and  that  we  cannot  expect 
further  aid  from  Egypt.  Nubar  Pasha  has  written  to 
me  a  longer  letter,  but  to  the  same  effect.  Now,  I  do 
not  call  these  instructions.  They  do  not  tell  me  that  I 
must  quit,  but  they  leave  me  a  free  agent." 

"  Well,  I  will  supplement  these  letters  with  my 
own  positive  knowledge,  if  you  will  permit  me,  as  the 

VOL.  I,  "  ^  ^ 


402  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Khedive  and  Nubar  Pasha  are  not  here  to  answer  for 
April  30.  themselves.  Dr.  Junker  arrived  in  Egypt  telling  the 
^'*^  world  that  you  were  in  great  distress  for  want  of 
ammunition,  but  that  you  had  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
defend  your  position  for  a  year  or  perhaps  eighteen 
months,  providing  no  determined  attack  was  made  on 
you,  and  you  were  not  called  upon  to  make  a  prolonged 
resistance  ;  that  you  had  defended  the  Equatorial  Pro- 
vinces so  far  successfully  ;  that  you  would  continue  to 
do  so  to  the  utmost  of  your  ability,  until  you  should 
receive  orders  from  your  Government  to  do  otherwise ; 
that  you  loved  the  country  and  people  greatly  ;  that  the 
country  was  in  a  prosperous  state — quiet  and  contented 
- — possessed  of  almost  everything  required  to  maintain 
it  in  this  happy  condition  ;  that  you  would  not  like  to 
see  all  your  work  thrown  away,  but  that  you  would 
much  prefer  that  Egypt  should  retain  these  provinces, 
or  failing  Egypt,  some  European  Power  able  and  willing 
to  continue  your  work.  Did  Dr.  Junker  report  you 
correctly,  Pasha  ? " 

"  Yes,  he  did." 

"  Well,  then,  the  first  idea  that  occurred  to  the  minds 
of  the  Egyptian  officials  upon  hearing  Dr.  Junker's 
report  was,  that  no  matter  what  instructions  you 
received,  you  would  be  disinclined  to  leave  your  pro- 
vinces, therefore  the  Khedive  says  that  if  you  remain 
here,  you  do  so  upon  your  own  responsibility,  and  at 
your  own  risk,  and  you  are  not  to  expect  further  aid 
from  Egypt. 

"  Our  instructions  are  to  carry  a  certain  quantity  of 
ammunition  to  you,  and  say  to  you,  upon  your  obtaining 
it,  '  Now  we  arc  ready  to  guide  and  assist  you  out  of 
Africa,  if  you  are  willing  to  accompany  us,  and  we  shall 
})e  delighted  to  have  the  pleasure  of  your  company  ;  but 
if  you  decline  going,  our  mission  is  ended.' 

"  Let  us  sup})osc  the  latter,  that  you  prefer  remaining 
in  Africa.  Well,  you  are  still  young,  only  forty-eight ; 
your  constitution  is  still  good.  Let  us  say  you  will 
feel  the  same  vigour  for  five,  ten,  even  fifteen  years 
longer ;  but  the  infirmities  of  age  will  creep  on  you,  and 


OUR  FUTURE  PROCEEDINGS.  403 

your  strength  will  fade  away.     Then  you  will  begin  to     isss. 
look  doubtingly  upon  the  future  prospect,  and  mayhap  ■'^i"''  ■^"• 
suddenly  resolve  to  retire  before  it  is  too  late.     Some    ^^^^^' 
route  will  be  chosen — the  Monbuttu  route,  for  instance 
— to  the  sea.      Say  that  you  reach  the  Congo,  and  are 
nearing  civilization  ;  how  will  you  maintain  your  people, 
for  food  must   then  be   bought   for   money   or  goods  ? 
And  supposing  you   reach   the  sea,  what  will   you   do 
then  ?     Who  will  assist  you  to  convey  your  people  to 
their  homes  ?     You  rejected  Egypt's  help  when  it  was 
offered  to  you,  and,  to  quote  the  words  of  the  Khedive, 
'  You  are  not  to  expect  further  aid  from  Egypt.' 

"  If  you  stay  here  during  life,  what  becomes  of  the  pro- 
vinces afterwards  ?  Your  men  will  fiorht  amonof  them- 
selves  for  supremacy,  and  involve  all  in  one  common 
ruin.  These  are  grave  questions,  not  to  be  hastily 
answered.  If  your  provinces  were  situated  within 
reasonable  reach  of  the  sea,  whence  you  could  be  fur- 
nished with  means  to  maintain  your  position,  I  should 
be  one  of  the  last  to  advise  you  to  accept  the  Khedive's 
offer,  and  should  be  most  active  in  assisting  you  with 
suggestions  as  to  the  means  of  maintenance  ;  but  here, 
surrounded  as  this  lake  is  by  powerful  kings  and  warlike 
peoples  on  all  sides,  by  such  a  vast  forest  on  the  west, 
and  by  the  fanatic  followers  of  the  Mahdi  on  the  north, 
were  I  in  your  place,  I  would  not  hesitate  one  moment 
what  to  do." 

"  What  you  say  is  quite  true,"  replied  the  Pasha,  "  but 
we  have  such  a  large  number  of  women  and  children, 
probably  10,000  people  altogether  !  How  can  they  all 
be  brought  out  of  here  ?  We  shall  want  a  great  many 
carriers." 

"  Carriers  for  what  ?  " 

"  For  the  women  and  children.  You  surely  would  not 
leave  them,  and  they  cannot  travel." 

"  The  women  must  walk ;  for  such  children  as  cannot 
walk,  they  will  be  carried  on  donkeys,  of  which  you  say 
you  have  many.  Your  people  cannot  travel  far  during 
the  first  month,  but  little  by  little  they  will  get  accus- 
tomed to  it.      Our  women   on  my  second  expedition 


Nsab6. 


404  IN  DABKEST  AFJilCA. 

1888     crossed  Africa  ;  your  women,  after  a  little  while,  will  do 

"  Tlifcv  will  require  a  vast  amount  of  provisions  for 
the  road." 

"  Well,  you  have  a  large  number  of  cattle,  some 
hundreds,  I  believe.  Those  will  furnish  beef  The 
countries  through  which  we  pass  must  furnish  grain  and 
vegetable  food.  And  when  we  come  to  countries  that 
will  accept  pay  for  food,  we  have  means  to  pay  for  it, 
and  at  Msalala  we  have  another  stock  of  goods  ready  for 
the  journey  to  the  coast." 

"Well,  well  We  will  defer  further  talk  of  it  till 
to-morrow." 

Ma?/  1st.- — Halt  at  Nsabe. 

About  11  A.M.  Emin  Pasha  came  ashore,  and  upon 
being  seated  we  resumed  in  a  short  time  our  conversa- 
tion of  last  evening. 

"  What  you  told  me  last  night,"  began  the  Pasha, 
"  has  led  me  to  think  that  it  is  best  we  should  retire 
from  Africa.  The  Egyptians  are  very  willing  to  go  I 
know.  There  are  about  fifty  men  of  them  besides 
women  and  children.  Of  those  there  is  no  doubt,  and 
even  if  I  stayed  here  I  should  be  glad  to  be  rid  of  them, 
because  they  undermine  my  authority,  and  nullify  all 
my  endeavours  for  retreat.  When  I  informed  them  that 
Khartoum  had  fallen  and  Gordon  Pasha  was  slain  they 
always  told  the  Nubians  that  the  story  was  concocted 
by  me,  and  that  some  day  we  should  see  the  steamers 
ascend  the  river  for  their  relief  But  of  the  Kegulars, 
who  compose  two  battalions  I  am  extremely  doubtful. 
They  have  led  such  a  free  and  liappy  life  here,  that  they 
would  dcnuir  at  leaving  a  country  where  they  enjoy 
luxuries  suc.li  as  they  cannot  hope  for  in  Egypt.  They 
are  married,  and  besides,  each  soldier  has  his  harem ; 
most  f)f  the  Ii'rcgulars  would  doubtless  retire  and  follow 
ine.  Now  .su])p<)sing  the  llegulars  refused  to  leave,  you 
(•.'111  imagine  my  position  wouhl  be  a  difficult  one.  Would 
I  he  j'ight  in  leaving  Iheni  to  their  ftite  ?  Would  it  not 
be  consigning  llicni  all  to  ruin  ?  I  should  have  to  leave 
thi'iii  their  aims  .iihI  ;iiiiiiiuiiil  ion,  and  on  my  retiring  all 


■  OUR   FUTURE  PROCEEDINGS.  405 

recognized  authority  and  discipline  would  be  ai  an  end.      isss. 
There  would  presently  rise  disputes  and  factions  would    ^'^^  ^' 
be  formed.     The  more  ambitious  would   aspire    to  be 
chiefs  by  force,  and  from  rivalries  would  spring  hate  and 
mutual  slaughter,  involving  all  in  one  common  fate." 

"  It  is  a  terrible  picture  you  have  drawn.  Pasha,"  I 
said.  "  Nevertheless,  bred  as  I  have  been  to  obey  orders, 
no  matter  what  may  happen  to  others,  the  line  of  your 
duty,  as  a  faithful  officer  to  the  Khedive,  seems  to  me 
to  be  clear. 

"  All  you  have  to  do,  according  to  my  idea,  is  to  read 
the  Khedive's  letter  to  your  troops,  and  ask  those  willing 
to  depart  with  you  to  stand  on  one  side,  and  those  pre- 
ferring to  remain  to  stand  on  the  other,  and  prepare  the 
first  for  immediate  departure,  while  to  the  latter  you  can 
leave  what  ammunition  and  guns  you  can  spare.  If 
those  who  remain  number  three-fourths  or  four-fifths 
of  your  force,  it  does  not  at  all  matter  to  any  one  what 
becomes  of  them,  for  it  is  their  own  choice,  nor  does  it 
absolve  you  personally  from  the  line  of  conduct  duty 
to  the  Khedive  directs." 

"  That  is  very  true,"  replied  the  Pasha  ;  "  but  sup- 
posing the  men  surround  me  and  detain  me  by  force  ? " 

"  That  is  unlikely,  I  should  think,  from  the  state  of 
discipline  I  see  among  your  men  ;  but  of  course  you 
know  your  own  men  best." 

"  Well,  I  shall  send  the  steamer  down  to-morrow  with 
the  Khedive's  letter,  and  you  would  oblige  me  greatly 
if  you  would  allow  one  of  your  officers  to  go  and  show 
himself  to  the  troops  at  Duffle'.  Let  him  speak  to  the 
men  himself,  and  say  that  he  has  come  from  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Government,  who  has  been  specially 
sent  by  the  Khedive  to  bring  them  out,  and  perhaps 
when  they  have  seen  him,  and  talked  with  your 
Soudanese,  they  will  be  willing  to  depart  with  us.  If 
the  people  go*,  I  go  ;  if  they  stay,  I  stay." 

"  Now  supposing  you  resolve  to  stay,  what  of  the 
Egyptians  ?  " 

"  Oh,  those  I  shall  have  to  ask  you  t(j  take 
charge  of." 


406  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  "  Now  will  you  be  good  enough  to  ask  Captain  Casati 

^*^/"  if  we  are  to  have  the  pleasure  of  his  company  to  the 
coast,  for  we  have  been  instructed  to  lend  him  every 
assistance  in  our  power  ?  " 

C^aptain  Casati  answered  through  Emin  Pasha. 

"  If  the  Governor  Emin  goes,  I  go  ;  if  he  stays,  I  stay." 

"Well,  I  see,  Pasha,  that  in  the  event  of  your  staying 
your  responsibilities  will  be  great,  for  you  involve 
Captain  Casati  in  your  own  fate." 

(A  laugh),  and  the  sentence  was  translated  to  Casati, 
and  the  gallant  Captain  at  once  replied. 

"  Oh,  I  absolve  Emin  Pasha  from  all  responsibility 
connected  with  me,  for  I  am  governed  by  my  own  choice 
entirely." 

"  May  I  suggest  then.  Pasha,  if  you  elect  to  remain 
here,  that  you  make  your  will  ?  " 

"Will!     What  for?" 

"  To  dispose  of  your  pay  of  course,  which  must  by 
this  time  be  considerable.  Eight  years  I  believe  you 
said  ?  Or  perhaps  you  meditate  leaving  it  to  Nubar 
Pasha  ?  " 

"  I  give  Nubar  Pasha  my  love.  Pho  !  There  can  be 
only  about  two  thousand  and  odd  pounds  due.  What  is 
such  a  sum  to  a  man  about  to  be  shelved  ?  I  am  now 
forty-eight  and  one  of  my  eyes  is  utterly  gone.  When 
I  get  to  Egypt  they  will  give  me  some  fine  words  and 
bow  me  out.  And  all  I  have  to  do  is  to  seek  out  some 
corner  of  Cairo  or  Stamboul  for  a  final  resting-place. 
A  fine  prospect  truly  ! " 

In  the  afternoon  Emin  Pasha  came  again  to  my  tent, 
and  during  our  conversation  he  said  that  he  had  resolved 
to  leave  Africa — "if  his  people  were  willing;  if  not,  he 
would  stay  with  them." 

I  learned  also  that  the  Egyptians  were  only  too 
wilb'ng  to  leave  for  their  mother-land,  and  that  there 
w(!re  a})out  sixty -five  of  tliem.  'J'hat  the  first  battalion 
of  Regulars  numbered  a  little  over  G50,  and  tliat  the 
second  battalion  amounted  to  nearly  800.  That  he  had 
about  750  Kemington  I'iHes,  and  that  the  rest  were 
armed  with  percussion  muskets. 


NsaM. 


CAMP  AT  N8AB6.  4i)>f 

May  2nd. — The  Khedive  steamer  left  this  morning  isss, 
for  the  northward,  first  to  Mswa  Station,  thence  to  ^''^.  ^ 
Tunguru,  fourteen  and  a  half  hours'  steaming  from  hence  ; 
two  days  later  she  will  sail  for  Wadelai,  the  third  day 
for  Duffle',  She  carries  letters  from  the  Pasha  to  bring 
up  sixty  or  seventy  soldiers,  a  Major,  and  as  many 
carriers  as  can  be  mustered.  She  will  prol)ably  be 
fourteen  days  absent.  In  the  meantime  we  await  here 
her  return. 

I  omitted  to  state  before  that  the  Pasha  brought  with 
him,  according  to  my  letter,  a  few  bullocks  and  milk 
cows,  about  forty  sheep  and  goats,  and  as  many  fowls, 
besides  several  thousand  pounds  of  grain,  as  rations  to 
subsist  the  Expedition  pending  the  time  we  should 
remain  on  the  Nyanza,  as  the  shore  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Nsabe  is  entirely  destitute  of  food  except  what  may  be 
obtained  by  hunting.  With  care  we  have  quite  three 
weeks'  provisions  on  hand. 

Meanwhile  the  Pasha  remains  here  with  Captain 
Casati  and  about  twenty  soldiers,  and  is  camped  about 
300  yards  south  of  us.  He  and  his  people  are  com- 
fortably hutted.  There  is  every  prospect  of  a  perfect 
rest  free  from  anxiety  for  some  two  weeks,  while  myself 
and  officers  will  have  the  society  of  a  most  amiable  and 
accomplished  man  in  the  Pasha.  Casati  does  not 
understand  English,  and  his  French  is  worse  than  my 
own,  so  I  am  excluded  from  conversing  with  him.  I 
learn  from  the  Pasha,  however,  that  Casati  has  had  a 
difficult  time  of  it  in  Unyoro.  Until  December  last, 
things  progressed  tolerably  well  with  him.  Eesiding  in 
Unyoro  as  Emin  Pasha's  Agent,  he  was  the  means  of, 
forwarding  the  Pasha's  letter  to  Uganda,  and  trans- 
mitting such  packets  of  letters,  books,  medicines, 
etc.,  that  Mr.  Mackay,  Church  Missionary  Agent,  could 
spare. 

Then  from  Uganda  there  came  suddenly  news  to 
Kabba  Rega  of  our  Expedition,  whose  force  rumour  had 
augmented  to  thousands  of  well-appointed  soldiers,  who 
intended  to  unite  with  the  Pasha's  force,  and  sweep 
through  Unyoro  and  Uganda  devastating  every  land; 


408  7^  BAIiKEST  AFRICA. 


1888.  and  presently  a  packet  of  letters  for  myself  and  officers 
^,*^,  "■  was  put  in  Kabba  Kega's  hands,  confirming  in  a  measure 
the  truth  of  this  report.  An  officer  was  sent  to  Casati's 
house,  and  the  Wanyoro  pillaged  him  of  every  article, 
and  bound  him  and  his  servants  to  a  tree,  besides  treat- 
ing him  personally  with  every  mark  of  indignity. 
Mohammed  Biri,  an  Arab,  who  had  been  mainly  the 
medium  of  communication  between  Casati  and  Mr. 
Mackay,  was,  I  am  told,  treated  in  a  worse  fashion — 
probably  executed  as  a  spy  and  traitor.  Captain  Casati 
and  his  personal  servants,  after  a  while  were  led  out 
from  Unyoro,  by  Kabba  Rega's  officials,  and  when 
beyond  the  frontier  were  tied  to  trees  again  in  a  nude 
state.  By  some  means,  however,  they  managed  to 
untie  themselves  and  escape  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Lake,  where  one  of  the  servants  discovered  a  canoe 
and  set  out  for  the  western  shore  across  the  Lake  to 
Tunguru  to  obtain  help  from  Emin  Pasha.  One  of  the 
Pasha's  steamers  came  across  the  daring  fellow,  and  the 
captain  on  hearing  the  news,  after  supplying  his  vessel 
with  fuel,  steamed  away  to  acquaint  the  Pasha.  In  a 
few  hours  the  Khedive  steamer  was  under  way,  com- 
manded by  the  Governor  in  person,  who  had  a  detach- 
ment of  soldiers  with  him.  After  searching  for  some 
time  the  eastern  shore,  as  directed  by  Casati's  servant, 
the  steamer  was  hailed  from  shore  by  Casati,  who  in  a 
few  moments  found  himself  safe  in  the  arms  of  his 
friend.  Some  soldiers  were  sent  on  shore,  and  Kibero 
was  burnt  in  retaliation  for  the  injuries  done  to  his 
agent.  ( )f  course,  Casati,  having  been  turned  out  naked 
into  the  w  ihh'rness,  lost  all  his  personal  property,  journals 
and  memoirs,  and  with  these  our  letters. 

Tlie  Captain  placed  a  way-bill  in  my  hand,  wherein  I 
IcMi'ii  that  postal  carriers  left  Zanzibar  on  the  27th  July, 
just  one  month  after  we  had  left  Yarabuya,  so  that  our 
letters  were  duly  received  at  Msalala  on  the  11th 
Septemlier,  and  arrived  at  the  Church  Missionary 
Station  ill  ( '<randa,  November  Lst ;  and  that  Captain 
('asati  i'c,(;(',ived  six  packets  of  letters  on  the  1st 
l)eccm])er,  juat   twelve   days  before  we  arrived  on  the 


Ksabe. 


MABRUKI   QORED   BY  A    BUFFALO.  409 

western  shore  of  the  Nyanza.     As  he  was  expelled  on     isss. 
the  13th  February,  1888,  according  to  his  account  our    ^^^^^']' 
mails  seem  to  have  long  lain  on  his  hands,  probably  no 
means  having  been  presented  of  sending  them  to  the 
Pasha. 

This  morning  3  o'clock  (Saat  Tato)  the  hunter  set  out 
to  shoot  game  for  the  camp,  accompanied  by  a  few 
young  fellows  anxious  to  participate  in  the  sport.  Two 
buffalo  fell  victims  to  the  hunter's  unerring  aim,  but  a 
third  one,  wounded  only  in  the  leg,  according  to  the 
cunning  instinct  of  the  beast,  rushed  away,  and  making 
a  circle  hid  himself  in  some  branchy  acacias  to  await  his 
opponent.  Mabruki,  the  son  of  Kassin,  thought  he  knew 
the  art  of  buffalo  hunting,  and  set  out  on  the  tracks  of 
the  wounded  animal.  The  bufialo  on  the  alert  no  sooner 
discovered  his  enenty,  than  uttering  a  hoarse  bellows 
charged  and  tossed  him,  one  of  his  horns  entering  the 
thigh  of  the  unhappy  man.  While  thus  prostrate,  he 
was  pounded  with  the  head,  gored  in  the  side,  arms,  and 
ripped  in  the  body,  until  Saat  Tato,  hearing  the  screams, 
rushed  to  the  rescue  when  almost  too  late,  and  planting 
a  shot  in  the  buffalo's  head,  rolled  him  over,  dead.  A 
young  man  hurried  to  camp  to  acquaint  us  with  the  sad 
accident.  "  Three  O'clock  "  set  out  again,  and  shot  four 
fine  buck  roan  antelope.  While  Mabruki  was  being  borne, 
shockingly  mangled,  in  a  cot  to  our  camp,  a  strong  detach- 
ment of  men  were  bearing  the  remains  of  three  buffaloes, 
and  four  roan  antelopes  to  serve  as  provisions  for  a 
people  already  gorged  with  beef  and  grain,  but,  strange  to 
say,  there  was  as  much  eager  clamour  and  loud  demand 
for  their  due  share  as  if  the  men  were  famished. 

On  the  night  of  April  30th  a  strong  gale  blew  nearly 
all  night,  and  the  Pasha  signalled  to  the  Khedive  to 
drop  two  anchors.  As  there  was  good  holding  ground 
the  steamer  rode  the  gale  safely.  Since  then  we  have 
had  several  strong  squalls  accompanied  with  rain  day 
and  night. 

May  Srd. — Nsabe  Camp. 

Kavalli's  people,  like  good  subjects  to  their  absent 
prince,  came  to  visit  him  to-day,  bringing  with  them 


Nsab^. 


410  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  ten  baskets  of  potatoes,  which  were  kindly  distributed 
^^.  ^°    between  us  and  Emin  Pasha. 

During  a  long;  conversation  this  afternoon  Emin 
Pasha  stated,  "  I  feel  convinced  that  my  people  will 
never  go  to  Egypt.  But  Mr.  Jephson  and  the  Soudanese 
whom  you  are  kind  enough  to  leave  with  me  will  have  an 
opportunity  to  see  and  hear  for  themselves.  And  I 
would  wish  you  would  write  out  a  proclamation  or 
message  which  may  be  read  to  the  soldiers,  in  which 
you  will  state  what  your  instructions  are,  and  say  that 
you  await  their  declaration.  From  what  I  know  of  them 
I  feel  sure  they  will  never  go  to  Egypt.  The  Egyptians, 
of  course,  will  go,  but  they  are  few  in  number,  and 
certainly  of  no  use  to  me  or  to  any  one  else." 

This  has  been  the  most  definite  answer  I  have 
received  yet.  I  have  been  awaiting  a  positive  declara- 
tion of  this  kind  before  venturing  upon  any  further 
proposition  to  him.  Now,  to  fulfil  my  promise  to 
various  parties,  though  they  appear  somewhat  conflict- 
ing, I  have  two  other  propositions  to  make.  My  first 
duty  is  to  the  Khedive,  of  course ;  and  I  should  ho,  glad 
to  find  the  Pasha  conformable,  as  an  obedient  ofticer  who 
kept  his  post  so  gallantly  until  ordered  to  withdraw. 
By  this  course  he  would  realise  the  ideal  Governor  his 
letters  created  in  my  mind.  Nevertheless,  he  has  but 
to  speak  positively  to  induce  me  to  assist  him  in  any 
way  to  the  best  of  my  power. 

"  Very  well,"  I  said ;  "  and  now  pray  listen,  Pasha,  to 
two  otlier  propositions  I  have  the  honour  of  making  to 
you  from  parties  who  would  be  glad  to  avail  themselves 
of  your  services.  Added  to  that  which  comes  from  His 
Highness  the  Khedive,  these  two  will  make  three,  and  I 
would  suggest  that,  as  there  appears  to  be  abundant 
time  ])eforc  you,  that  you  examine  each  on  its  merits 
and  elect  for  yourself 

"  fjct  me  repeat  them,  Tlie  first  proposition  is  that 
you  still  continue  to  })e  an  obedient  soldier  and  accom- 
pany mc  to  Egypt.  On  arrival,  yourself,  your  ofiicers 
and  men,  will  receive  your  pay  U])  to  date.  Whether 
you  will    be   employcsd    by   the  Government  in    active 


MY  PROPOSITIONS    TO  EMIN.  411 

service  I  do  not   know ;    I    should    think    you    would,      isss. 
Officers  of  your  kind  are  rare,  and  Egypt  has  a  frontier     ^^^^  ^ 
where   such   services   as   you    could    render   would    be       **  ^ 
valuable.     In  answer  to  this  proposition  you,  however, 
say  that  you  feel  convinced   your  men  will   not  depart 
from  here,  and  that  in  the  event  of  a  declarati<jn  to  that 
effect  being  given  by  them  that  you   will  remain  with 
them, 

"  Now,  my  second  proposition  to  you  comes  from 
Leopold,  King  of  the  Belgians,  He  has  requested  me 
to  inform  you  that  in  order  to  prevent  the  lapse  of  the 
Equatorial  Provinces  to  barbarism,  and  provided  they 
can  yield  a  reasonable  revenue,  the  Congo  State  might 
undertake  the  government  of  them  if  it  could  be  done 
by  an  expenditure  of  about  £10,000  or  £12,000  per 
annum ;  and  further,  that  his  Majesty  King  Leopold 
was  willing  to  pay  a  sufficient  salary  to  you — £1,500 
as  Governor,  with  the  rank  of  General — in  the  belief 
that  such  employment  agrees  with  your  own  inclination. 
Your  duty  would  be  to  keep  open  the  communications 
between  the  Nile  and  Congo,  and  to  maintain  law  and 
order  in  the  Equatorial  Provinces, 

"  My  third  proposition  is  :  If  you  are  convinced  that 
your  people  will  positively  decline  the  Khedive's  offer 
to  return  to  Egypt,  that  you  accompany  me  with  such 
soldiers  as  are  loyal  to  you  to  the  north-east  corner  of 
Victoria  Nyanza,  and  permit  me  to  establish  you  there 
in  the  name  of  the  East  African  Association,  We  will 
assist  you  to  build  your  fort  in  a  locality  suitable  to  the 
aims  of  such  an  association,  leave  our  boat  and  such 
things  as  would  be  necessary  for  your  purpose  with  you, 
and  then  hasten  home  across  the  Masai  Land,  lay  the 
matter  before  the  East  African  Association,  and  obtain 
its  sanction  for  the  act,  as  well  as  its  assistance  to 
establish  you  permanently  in  Africa,  I  must  explain  to 
you  that  I  have  no  authority  to  make  this  last  proposi- 
tion, that  it  issues  from  my  own  goodwill  to  you,  and 
with  an  earnest  desire  to  save  you  and  your  men  from 
the  consequences  of  your  determination  to  remain  here. 
But  I  feel  assured  that  I  can  obtain  its  hearty  approval 


412  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     and  co-operation,  and  that  the  Association  will  readily 
^^^'y  ^-     appreciate  the  value   of  a  trained   battalion   or  two  in 
^^''^"^'    their   new   acquisition,    and    the    services    of    such    an 
administrator  as  yourself. 

"  Pray,  grant  me  a  patient  hearing  for  a  moment  or 
two  while  f  explain  definitely  to  you  your  position  here. 
The  whole  system  of  Egyptian  extension  up  to  the 
Albert  Nyanza  was  wrong.  In  theory  it  was  beautiful, 
and  it  was  natural.  AVhat  more  natural  than  that  the 
Government  established  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  should 
desire  to  extend  its  authority  up  along  the  banks  to  its 
source,  and  such  a  source  as  the  Nile  has.  Unhappily, 
however,  it  was  an  Egyptian  Government,  which,  how- 
ever honest  in  its  intentions,  could  only  depend  upon 
officials  of  the  lowest  moral  quality  and  mental  calibre. 
It  is  true  the  chief  official  in  these  regions  has  been  a 
Baker,  or  a  Gordon,  or  an  Emin,  but  all  the  subordinates 
were  Egyj^tians  or  Turks.  As  you  multiplied  your 
stations  and  increased  your  posts,  you  lessened  your 
own  influence.  While  in  the  centre  of  your  orbit  there 
might  be  a  semblance  of  government  ;  the  outer  circles 
remained  under  the  influences  of  Turkish  and  Egyptian 
officers  of  some  Cairene  Pasha,  or  Bey,  or  Eflendi,  whose 
conduct  was  licentious  and  capricious.  By  military 
force  the  country  was  taken  and  occupied,  and  by  force 
the  occupation  has  been  maintained  ever  since.  A 
recognized  Government,  even  if  it  be  that  of  Egypt,  has 
a  legal  and  moral  right  to  extend  its  authority  and 
enlarge  its  domain.  If  it  executes  its  will  effectively, 
so  much  the  l)etter.  Givilization  Avill  be  benefited,  and 
all  peoples  are  better  under  a  constituted  Government 
than  under  none.  But  was  there  an  eflective  Govern- 
ment ?  As  far  as  Lado  and  Gondokoro,  near  the  White 
Nile  Cataracts,  it  was  tolerable  I  admit.  Steamers  could 
slcain  fiom  Px'ibcr  ;is  fai-  as  Lado,  and  the  chief  official 
could  su|)('i'iiit('ii<l  ■;^\\r\i  sub  -  ( Jovcvnmcnts  as  were 
(sstablisiicd,  but  when,  licfoi-c  making  I'oads  or  pre- 
paring and  ensuiing  I  lie  means  of  communication,  the 
l^^gyptian  (^ov(;nini('nt  approved  the  a(;ts  of  expan- 
biou    undertak<Mi   over   the   immense,   trackless,   inacces- 


/  EXPLAIN  EMINS   POSITION   TO    HIM.  413 


1888. 


sible  area  of  the  extreme  Soudan,  it  invited  tlic 
catastrophe  that  happened.  When  Mohammed  A chmet  ^*^  ^' 
fired  the  combustible  material  that  the  extortionate 
subordinates  had  gathered,  the  means  for  extinguishing 
the  flames  were  scattered  over  an  area  of  about  500,000 
square  miles.  The  Governor-General  was  slain,  his 
capital  taken  ;  one  province  after  another  fell ;  and  their 
governors  and  soldiery,  isolated  and  far  apart,  capitu- 
lated ;  and  you,  the  last  of  these,  only  saved  yourself 
and  men  by  retreating  from  Lado.  Expanded  on  the 
same  system,  and  governed  only  by  the  presence  of  the 
military,  these  former  Egyptian  accpisitions,  if  retaken, 
would  invite  a  similar  fate.  If  the  military  occupation 
were  effective,  and  each  sub-Government  cohered  to  the 
other,  the  collapse  of  the  Government  need  not  be 
feared ;  but  it  can  never  be  effective  under  Egypt. 
Neither  her  revenues  nor  her  population  can  afford  it. 
In  the  absence  of  this,  only  self-interest  of  the  peoples 
governed  can  link  these  distant  territories  to  the 
Government  of  Egypt ;  and  this  is  an  element  which 
seems  never  to  have  been  considered  by  those  respon- 
sible for  this  sudden  overgrowth  of  Cairene  empire. 
When  has  this  self-interest  of  the  people  been  cultivated 
or  fostered  ?  The  captains  marched  their  soldiery  to  a 
native  territory,  raised  a  flag-staff,  and  hoisted  the  red 
banner  with  the  crescent,  and  then  with  a  salute  of 
musketry  declared  the  described  district  around  formally  , 
annexed  to  Egypt.  Proclamations  were  issued  to  all 
concerned,  that  henceforth  the  ivory  trade  w^as  a 
monopoly  of  the  Government ;  and  in  consequence,  such 
traders  as  were  in  the  land  were  deprived  of  their 
livelihood.  When,  to  compensate  themselves  for  the 
loss  of  profit  incurred  by  these  measures,  the  traders 
turned  their  attention  to  slaves,  another  proclamation 
crushed  their  enterprise  in  that  traffic  also.  A  large 
number  of  the  aborigines  derived  profit  from  the  sale  oi 
ivory  to  the  traders,  others  had  large  interests  in  the 
capture  and  sale  of  slaves,  while  the  traders  themselves, 
having  invested  their  capital  in  these  enterprises,  dis- 
covered themselves  absolutely  ruined,  both  money  and 


414  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1888.  occupation  gone.  Remember,  I  am  only  considering  tlie 
May  3.  policy.  Thus  there  were  left  in  the  Soudan  hundreds 
^^^^  of  armed  caravans,  and  each  caravan  numbered  from  a 
score  to  hundreds  of  rifles.  When  Mohamed  Achmet 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt  he  had  some  advantages  to 
offer  to  the  leaders  of  these  caravans  made  desperate 
by  their  losses.  What  had  the  Government  officials 
to  offer  ?  Nothing.  Consequently  all  vestiges  of  the 
Government  that  had  been  so  harsh,  so  arbitrary,  and 
unwise,  were  swept  away  like  chaff.  It  w^as  to  the 
interest  of  traders  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  to  endeavour  to  restore  a  state  of  things 
which,  though  highly  immoral  as  considered  by  us, 
to  them  meant  profit,  and,  what  is  more,  relief  from 
oppression. 

"  Now  consider  the  Congo  State,  which  has  extended 
itself  much  more  rapidly  than  Egyptian  authority  was 
extended  in  the  Soudan.  Not  a  shot  has  been  fired,  no 
violence  has  been  offered  to  either  native  or  trader,  not 
a  tax  has  been  levied  except  at  the  seaport  where  the 
trader  embarks  his  exports.  Native  chiefs  voluntarily 
offered  their  territories,  and  united  under  the  blue  flag 
with  the  golden  star.  Why  ?  Because  there  were  many 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  strangers  living 
among  them.  First,  they  were  protected  against  their 
strono-er  neighbours,  every  catal^le  they  could  raise  and 
,  sell  l)rought  its  full  value  to  them  of  such  clothing  and 
other  necessaries  they  needed.  AVhatever  trade  they 
had — ivory,  rubber,  palm-oil,  or  kernels — was  free  and 
untaxed,  and  their  native  customs,  or  domestic  matters, 
were  not  interfered  with.  It  was  founded  without 
violence,  and  subsists  without  violence  ;  when,  however, 
the  Congo  State  initiates  another  policy,  taxes  their 
trade,  lays  hands  upon  the  ivoiy  as  a  (Government 
monopoly,  meddles  with  tlieir  domestic  institutions, 
absorbs  tyraiiiiically  all  the  ])r()fits  of  the  European 
trader,  ])efor(^  it  is  firmly  established  on  the  soil,  and 
gathered  about  its  stations  siillicient  ])]iysical  force  to 
enable  it  to  do  so  with  impunity,  the  Congo  State  will 
collapse  just  as  disastrously  and  as  suddenly  as  was  the 


THE    CONGO    STATE.  415 

case  witli  Egyptian  authority  in  the  Soudan.  The  isss. 
disaster  tliat  occurred  at  Stanley  Falls  station  is  an  ^^J'^ 
indication  of  what  may  be  expected. 

"  Now  every  man  who  reflects  at  all  will  see  that  these 
Provinces  of  yours  can  never  be  re-occupied,  by  Egypt 
while  Egypt  is  governed  by  Egyptian  officials.  Egypt 
cannot  afford  the  sums  necessary  to  maintain  an  effective 
occupation  over  a  territory  so  remote.  They  are  too 
distant  from  Wadi  Haifa,  the  present  true  limit  of  her 
territory.  AVhen  she  connects  Wadi  Haifa  with  Berber,  or 
Khartoum  or  Suakim  with  Berber  by  railway,  Lado  may 
be  considered  the  extreme  southern  limit  of  her  territory. 
When  a  railway  connects  Lado  with  Duffle  the  true  limit 
of  Egyptian  authority  will  be  the  southern  end  of  this 
Lake,  provided  always  that  the  military  force  will  be 
sufficient  to  maintain  this  mode  of  communication  unin 
terrupted.  AVhen  do  you  think  all  this  will  happen? 
During  your  lifetime  ? 

"Who  else,  then,  will  bo  so  quixotic  as  to  casta  covetous 
eye  on  these  Provinces  ?  The  King  of  the  Belgians  ? 
Well,  there  is  a  stipulation  connected,  with  this  proposal, 
and  that  is,  if  the  Provinces  can  '  give  a  reasonable 
revenue.'  You  are  the  best  judge  of  this  matter,  and 
whether  £10,000  or  £12,000  subsidy  will  suffice  for  the 
support  of  the  Government  of  these  Provinces.  The 
revenue,  whatever  it  may  be  with  this  additional  sum, 
must  be  sufficient  to  maintain  about  twenty  stations  be-  ^ 
tween  here  and  Yambuya,  a  distance  of  650  miles  or 
thereabouts;  that  is,  to  pay  about  1,200  soldiers,  about 
fifty  or  sixty  officers,  and  a  supreme  Governor,  furnish 
their  equipments,  the  means  of  defence,  and  such  trans- 
port force  as  may  be  necessary  to  unite  the  most  distant 
part  with  the  Congo. 

"  Failing  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  who  else  will 
undertake  your  support  and  maintenance,  befitting 
your  station  and  necessity  ?  There  are  enough  kind- 
hearted  people  in  this  world  possessed  of  suiiicient 
superfluous  means  to  equip  an  Expedition  once,  say, 
every  three  years.  But  this  is  only  a  temporary 
expedient   for   mere    subsistence,    and    it    scarcely  re- 


416  JN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  sponds  to  your  wishes.  What  then  ?  I  await  your 
'^^'^■^  ^'  answer,  Pasha,  a2;ain  beo-o-inc;  to  he  excused  for  beiner  so 
talkative. 

"  I  thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Stanley,  I  do  assure 
you,  from  my  heart.  If  I  fail  to  express  my  gratitude, 
it  is  because  language  is  insufficient.  But  I  feel  your 
kindness  deeply,  I  assure  you,  and  will  answer  you 
frankly. 

"  Now,  to  the  first  proposition  you  have  made  me, 
I  have  already  given  my  answer. 

"To  the  second  I  would  say  that,  first  of  all,  my 
duty  is  to  Egypt.  While  I  am  here,  the  Provinces 
belong  to  Egypt,  and  remain  her  property  until  I  retire. 
When  I  depart  they  become  'no  man's  land.'  I  can- 
not strike  my  flag  in  such  a  manner,  and  change  the  red 
for  the  blue.  I  have  served  the  first  for  thirty  years  ; 
the  latter  J  never  saw.  Besides,  may  I  ask  you  if,  with 
your  recent  experience,  you  think  it  likely  that  commu- 
nication could  be  kept  open  at  reasonable  cost  ? " 

"  Undoubtedly  not  at  first.  Our  experiences  have 
been  too  terrible  to  forget  them  soon  ;  but  we  shall 
return  to  Yambuya  for  the  rear  column,  I  anticipate, 
with  much  less  suffering.  The  pioneer  suffers  most. 
Those  who  follow  us  will  j^rofit  by  what  we  have 
learned." 

"  That  may  be,  but  we  shall  be  at  least  two  years 
before  any  news  can  reach  us.  No,  I  do  not  think  that 
proposition,  with  all  due  gratitude  to  His  Majesty  King 
Leopold,  can  be  entertained,  and  therefore  let  us  turn  to 
the  last  proposition. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  my  people  would  object  to  accom- 
panying me  to  tlic  Victoria  Nyanza,  as  their  objection, 
so  far  as  I  know,  only  applies  to  going  to  Egypt.  As- 
suming that  the  people  are  willing,  I  admire  the  project 
very  mucli.  It  is  the  l)est  solution  of  the  difficulty,  and 
by  far  the  most  reasona])le.  For  consider  that  three- 
fouitlis  of  tlic  8,000  people  are  women,  children,  and 
young  slaves.  Wliat  would  iha  Government  do  with 
such  a  mass  of  people  ?  Would  it  feed  them  ?  Then 
think  of  Llic  dilliculty  of  Iravcl  with  such   an   army  of 


Nsab^. 


TEE  'FOREIGN   OFFICE'   DESPATCHES.  417 

helpless  people.     I  cannot  take  upon  myself  the  respon-     1888. 
sibility  of  leading  such  a  host  of  tender-footed  people  to    ^^^  "*■ 
die  on  the  road.     The  journey  to  the  Victoria  is  possible. 
It  is  comparatively  short.     Yes,  by  far  the  last  proposi- 
tion is  the  most  feasible." 

"  There  is  no  hurry,  since  you  are  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  rear  column.  Turn  the  matter  over  in  your  mind 
while  I  go  to  bring  the  Major  up.  You  have  certainly 
some  weeks  before  you  to  consider  the  question  tho- 
roughly." 

I  then  showed  him  the  printed  Foreign  Office 
despatches  furnished  to  me  by  order  of  Lord  Iddes- 
leigh.  Among  these  was  a  copy  of  his  letter  to  Sir 
John  Kirk,  wherein  he  offered  the  Province  in  1886  to 
England,  and  stated  that  he  would  be  most  happy  to 
surrender  the  Province  to  the  British  Government,  or, 
in  fact,  any  Power  that  would  undertake  to  maintain 
the  Province. 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Pasha,  "  they  should  never  have 
published  this  letter.  It  w^as  private.  What  will  the 
Egyptian  Government  think  of  my  conduct  in  ven- 
turing to  treat  of  such  a  matter  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  see  the  harm,"  I  replied  ;  "  the  Egyptian 
Government  declares  its  inability  to  keep  the  Province, 
the  British  Government  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it,  and  I  do  not  know  of  any  company  or  body  of  men 
who  would  undertake  the  maintenance  of  what  I  regard, 
under  all  the  circumstances,  as  a  useless  possession.  In 
my  opinion  it  is  just  500  miles  too  far  inland  to  be  of 
any  value,  unless  Uganda  and  Unyoro  have  been  first 
brought  under  law ;  that  is,  if  you  persist  in  declining 
King  Leopold's  offer.  If  you  absolutely  decline  to 
serve  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  and  you  are  resolved 
to  stay  in  Africa,  you  must  trust  in  my  promise  to  get 
a  British  Company  to  employ  you  and  your  troops, 
which  probably  has  by  this  time  been  chartered  with 
the  purpose  of  constituting  a  British  possession  in  East 
Africa." 

VOL.    I.  ,  BB 


418  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WITH  THE  PASHA  {continued). 

Fortified  stations  in  the  Province — Storms  at  Nsabe — A  nest  of  young 
crocodiles  —  Lake  Ibrahim  —  Zanzibari  raid  on  Balegga  villages — 
Dr.  Parke  goes  in  search  of  the  two  missing  men — The  Zanzibaris 
again — A  real  tornado — The  Pasha's  gifts  to  us — Introduced  to 
Emin's  oflBcers — Emiu's  cattle  forays — The  Khedive  departs  for  Mswa 
station — Mabruki  and  his  wages — Tlie  Pasha  and  the  use  of  the 
sextant  —  Departure  of  local  chiefs  —  Arrival  of  the  Kliedlve  and 
Nyaiiza  steamers  with  soldiers — Arrangements  made  to  return  in 
scai'ch  of  the  rear-column — My  message  to  the  troops — Our  Badzwa 
road — A  farewell  dance  by  the  Zanzibaris — The  Madi  carriers'  dis- 
appearance— First  sight  of  Ruwenzori — Former  circumnavigators  of 
the  Albert  Lake — Lofty  twin-peak  mountain  near  the  East  Ituri 
Eiver — Aid  for  Emin  against  Kabba  Eega — Two  letters  from  Emin 
Pasha — We  are  informed  of  an  intended  attack  on  us  by  chiefs 
Kadongo  and  Musiri — Fresh  Madi  carriers  —  AVe  attack  Kadongo's 
camp — With  assistance  from  Mazamboni  and  Gavira  we  march  on 
Musiri's  camp  which  turns  out  to  be  deserted — A  jDhalanx  dance  by 
Mazamboni's  warriors — Music  on  the  African  Continent — Camp  at 
Nzera-kura  Hill — Presents  from  various  chiefs — Chief  Musiri  wishes 
for  peace. 

1888  May  Uh. — Mswa,  I  am  told,  is  9  hours'  distance  from 

w!Lt  Nsabe  camp  by  steamer,  thence  to  Tunguru  is  5  hours, 
and  to  Wadelai  18  hours.  The  other  fortified  stations 
are  named  Fabbo,  east  of  Nile  ;  Duffle'  end  of  naviga- 
tion ;  Jloriyu,  Lahore,  Muggi,  Kirri,  Bedden,  Rejaf,  and 
three  or  four  small  stations  inbuid,  west  of  the  Nile. 

He  has  spoken  in  a  more  hopeful  tone  to-day  of  the 
prospects  of  returning  from  the  shores  of  the  Albert, 
the  Victoria  Lake  region  appearing  even  more  attrac- 
tive than  at  first.  But  there  is  somethino;  about  it  all 
that  I  cannot  fatliom. 

Ma;/  (;///.  — Halt  ;it  Nsabe. 

Another  storm  biokc  out  to-day,  commencing  at 
8  A.M.,  bk)wiiig  from  tlie  north-east.  The  previous 
gales    were    south -casters,    veering    to    east.       Looking 


Nsabe. 


STORM fi   AT  NSAB6.  419 

toward  the  steep  slope  of  the  plateau  walls  east  and  isss. 
west  of  us,  we  saw  it  shrouded  in  mist  and  vapour,  ^'''^  ^' 
and  rain-clouds  ominous  of  tempests.  The  whole 
face  of  the  Nyanza  was  foam,  spray,  and  white  rollers, 
which,  as  they  approached  the  shore,  we  saw  were 
separated  by  great  troughs,  very  dangerous  to  any 
small  craft  that  might  be  overtaken  l)y  the  storm. 

May  7th. — Halt  at  Nsabe. 

While  at  dinner  with  me  this  evening,  the  Pasha 
informed  me  that  Oasati  had  expressed  himself  very 
strongly  against  the  route  proposed  to  be  taken,  vid 
Usongora,  south,  and  advised  the  Pasha  to  take  the 
Monbuttu  route  to  the  Congo.  From  which  I  conclude 
that  the  Pasha  has  been  speaking  to  Casati  about  going 
home.  Has  he  then  altered  his  mind  about  the 
Victoria  ? 

May  8  ^/i.— Halt  at  Nsabe'. 

Each  day  has  its  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  loud 
thunder-claps,  preceded  by  a  play  of  lightning  flashes, 
most  beautiful,  but  terrible. 

Discovered  a  nest  of  young  crocodiles,  thirty-seven  in 
number,  having  just  issued  from  their  egg-homes.  By- 
the-bye,  to  those  unacquainted  with  the  fact,  a  crocodile 
has  five  claws  on  the  fore  feet,  and  only  four  claws  on 
the  hinder.  It  has  been  stated  that  a  crocodile  raises 
the  upper  jaw  to  devour,  whereas  the  fact  is  it  depresses 
the  lower  jaw  like  other  animals. 

May  9th,  10th. — Halt  at  Nsabe'. 

May  nth. — Food  supply  is  getting  low.  Five  men 
have  wandered  off  in  search  of  something,  and  have  not 
returned  since  yesterday.  I  hope  we  are  not  going  to 
be  demoralized  ao-ain. 

Mr.  Jephson  is  suffering  from  a  bilious  attack. 

Lake  Ibrahim,  or  Gita  Nzige  according  to  the  Pasha, 
is  only  an  expansion  of  the  Victoria  Nile,  similar  to  that 
below  Wadelai  and  Lake  Albert,  the  Upper  Congo,  and 
Stanley  Pool.  Consequently  it  has  numerous  channels, 
separated  by  lines  of  islets  and  sand-bars.  Both 
Gordon  and  Emin  Pasha  have  travelled  by  land  along 
its  right  bank. 


420  IN  DAB  REST  AFRICA. 

1888.  At  9  P.M.  I  received  dismal  intelligence.  Four  men, 
May  11  whom  I  observed  playing  on  the  sandy  shore  of  the 
"  ^'^  °*  lake  at  4  o'clock,  suddenly  took  it  into  their  heads  to 
make  a  raid  on  some  Bale2:o-a  villages  at  the  foot  of  the 
plateau  N.N.W.  from  here.  They  were  surrounded  by 
the  natives,  and  two  of  them  seemed  to  have  been 
killed,  while  the  other  two,  who  escaped,  show  severe 
wounds. 

May  12tlt. — Halt  at  Nsabe. 

This  morning  sent  Doctor  Parke  with  forty-five  rifles  to 
hunt  up  the  two  missing  men.  One  of  them  came  in  at 
9  A.M.  after  a  night  spent  in  the  wilderness.  He  has  a  deep 
gash  in  the  l^ack  from  a  spear  that  had  been  hurled  at 
him.  Fortunately  it  did  not  penetrate  the  vital  parts. 
He  tells  me  he  was  exchanging  meat  for  flour  when  he 
heard  rifle  shots  ahead,  and  at  once  there  was  general 
alarm.  The  natives  fled  one  way  and  he  fled  another, 
but  presently  found  himself  pursued,  and  received  a 
spear  wound  in  the  back.  He  managed  to  outrun  the 
pursuer,  until  in  the  deep  grass  of  w^atercourse  he 
managed  to  hide  while  a  number  of  natives  w^ere 
searching  for  him.  He  lay  there  all  night,  and  when 
the  sun  was  up,  lifted  his  head  to  take  a  look  round, 
and  seeing  no  one,  made  his  way  to  the  camp. 

I  am  never  quite  satisfied  as  to  the  manner  of  these 
accidents,  whether  the  natives  or  the  Zanzibaris  are  the 
aggressors.  The  latter  relate  with  exceeding  plausibility 
their  version  of  the  matter,  but  they  are  such  adepts  in 
the  art  of  lying  that  I  am  frequently  bewildered.  The 
exti'action  of  the  truth  in  tliis  instance  seems  to  be  so 
hopeless  that  I  tell  them  I  judge  of  the  matter  thus  : 

"  You  Zanzil)aris,  so  long  as  you  receive  five  or  six 
pounds  of  fl(jur  and  as  many  pounds  of  meat  daily, 
become  so  lazy,  you  would  not  go  to  the  steamer  for 
more  to  provide  rations  while  slic  would  be  absent. 
She-  liJis  been  gone  now  several  davs,  your  rations  are 
nearly  exhausted,  of  course,  foi-  wlio  can  supply  you 
with  as  much  meat  as  you  can  waste,  and  you  left 
camp  witliout  permission,  to  steal  from  the  Balegga. 
There  was  (|uit(i  a  l»ai(y  of  you,  I  liear,  and  most  of  you, 


ZANZIBARI  RAID    ON  BALEOGA    VILLAGES.  421 

on  seeing  the  village  fairly  crowded  with  natives,  were  isss. 
more  prudent  than  others,  and  traded  a  little  meat  for  ^^'^^  ^^' 
flour,  but  your  bolder  companions  passed  on,  and  began 
to  loot  fowls.  The  natives  resented  this,  shot  their 
arrows  at  the  thieves,  who  fired  in  return,  and  there 
was  a  general  flight.  One  of  your  numljer  has  been 
killed.  I  have  lost  a  rifle,  and  three  more  of  you  have 
been  wounded,  and  will  be  unfit  for  work  for  a  long 
time.  That  is  the  truth  of  the  matter,  and  therefore  I 
shall  give  you  no  medicines.  Cure  your  own  wounds  if 
you  can,  and  you  three  fellows,  if  you  recover,  sliall  pay 
me  for  my  rifle. 

May  13th. — Halt  at  Nsabe. 

The  doctor  returned  from  his  quest  of  the  missing 
without  further  incident  than  burning  two  small  vil- 
lages and  firing  a  few  shots  at  distant  parties.  He 
was  unable  to  recover  the  body  of  the  Zanzibari,  or 
his  Winchester  rifle.  Where  he  fell  w^as  marked  with 
a  good  deal  of  blood,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  wounded 
some  of  his  foes. 

A  real  tornado  blew  last  night.  Inky  clouds  gather- 
ing to  the  S.E.E.  and  N.E.  prepared  us  somewhat  for  a 
wet  night,  but  not  for  the  fearful  volume  of  wind  which 
pressed  on  us  with  such  solid  force  as  to  wTeck  camp 
and  lay  low  the  tents.  The  sound,  as  it  approached, 
resembled  that  which  we  might  expect  from  the  rupture 
of  a  dam  or  the  rush  from  a  collapsed  reservoir.  The 
rain,  sw^pt  by  such  a  powerful  force,  pierced  every- 
where. No  precaution  that  Ave  had  been  taught  hy 
past  experience  of  this  Nyanza  weather  availed  us 
against  the  searching,  penetrative  power  of  the  rain 
and  its  fine  spray.  From  under  the  huts  and  tents, 
and  along  the  ridge  poles,  through  close  shut  windows, 
ventilators,  and  doors,  the  tornado  drove  the  rain  in 
until  we  were  deluged.  To  contend  against  such  power 
of  wind  and  water  in  a  pitchy  darkness  in  the  midst  of 
a  deafening  uproar  was  so  hopeless  a  task  that  our  only 
refuge  was  to  bear  it  in  silence  and  with  closed  lips. 
Daylight  revealed  a  placid  lake,  a  ragged  sky,  plateau 
tops   buried   in   masses    of    vapour,    a   wrecked    camp, 


Nsabe. 


422  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     prostrate  tents,  and  soaking  furniture.     So  terrible  was 
May  13.    ^j^^    ^^^^^    ^^  ^y^^  gm;f  i\^q^  ^c  sliould  liave  wished  to 

have  viewed  the  careering  rollers  and  tempestuous  face 
of  the  lake  by  daylight.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
old  Khedive  was  safely  harboured,  otherwise  she  must 
have  foundered. 

May  14:th. — Halt  at  Nsabe'. 

The  steamer  Khedive  arrived  this  afternoon,  bringing 
in  a  supply  of  millet  grain  and  a  few  milch  cows.  The 
Pasha  came  up  smiling  with  welcome  gifts  for  each  of 
us.  To  me  he  gave  a  pair  of  stout  walking  shoes  in 
exchange  for  a  smaller  pair  of  boots  to  be  given  him  on 
my  return  with  the  rear  column.  Mr.  Jephson  was 
made  hajDpy  with  a  shirt,  a  singlet,  and  a  pair  of 
drawers  ;  w^iile  Dr.  Parke,  w^hose  grand  kit  had  been 
stolen  by  an  absconding  Zanzibari,  received  a  blue 
jersey,  a  singlet,  and  a  pair  of  drawers.  Each  of  us 
also  received  a  pot  of  honey,  some  bananas,  oranges, 
and  water  melons,  onions,  and  salt.  I  also  received  a 
pound  of  "  Honeydew  Tobacco  "  and  a  bottle  of  pickles. 

These  gifts,  such  as  clothes,  that  our  officers  have 
received  from  Emin  Pasha,  reveal  that  he  was  not  in 
the  extreme  distress  we  had  imagined,  and  that  there 
was  no  necessity  for  the  advance  to  have  pressed  for- 
ward so  hurriedly.*  AVc  left  all  our  comforts  and 
reserves  of  clothing  beliind  at  Yambuya,  tliat  w^e  might 
press  on  to  the  rescue  of  one  whom  we  imagined  w^as 
distressed  not  only  for  want  of  means  of  defence  from 
enemies,  but  in  want  of  clothing.  ]jesides  the  double 
trip  we  have  made  to  Lake  Albert,  I  fear  I  shall  have 
to  tra\'el  far  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  Major  Barttelot  and 
the  rear  column.  God  only  knows  where  he  is.  He 
may  not  liave  left  Yambuya  yet,  and  if  so  w^c  shall 
have  l'U)0  miles  extra  marching  to  perform.  It  is  a 
terribly  long  mai-cli  througli  a  forbidding  country,  and 
I  fear  I  sliall  lose  many  and  many  a  good  soul  before  it 
is  ended.     However,  God's  will  be  done. 

*  Yfit,  Emin  r.islia  u  lolc,  n  letter  on  tlio  25tli  March,  1888,  to  the 
Edifor  of  l'(!t<'-nii!uiii'.s  M.i^^iiziiK!,  iifty  days  iinsv  iously,  wliicli  ho  con- 
cluded with  the  words,  "  J  I'  .Stanley  does  uot  come  soon,  we  are  lost." 


Nsabe. 


INTltODUGED    TO   EMIN'S    OFFICERS.  423 

He  introduced  to  me  to-day  Selim  Bey  and  Major  isss. 
Awasli  Etfendi,  and  other  officers.  I  had  suggested  to  ^y  ^^ 
him  two  or  three  days  ago  that  he  could  assist  me 
greatly  if  he  constructed  a  small  station  on  Nyamsassi 
Island,  where  we  would  be  sure  to  have  easy  comnmni- 
cation  with  his  people,  on  which  he  also  could  store  a 
reserve  of  corn  ready  for  the  arrival  of  the  united 
Expedition,  and  he  readily  promised  me.  But  I  confess 
to  experiencing  some  wonder  to-day  when  he  turned  to 
Awash  Effendi,  the  Major,  and  said,  rather  pleadingly 
I  thought,  "Now  promise  me  before  Mr.  Stanley  that 
you  will  give  me  forty  men  to  build  this  station,  which 
Mr.  Stanley  so  much  desires."  There  is  something 
about  this  that  I  do  not  understand.  It  is  certainly 
not  like  my  ideal  Governor,  Vice-King,  and  leader  of 
men,  to  talk  in  that  strain  to  subordinates. 

Had  another  conversation  with  Emin  Pasha  to-day, 
from  which  I  feel  convinced  that  w^e  shall  not  only  have 
to  march  to  the  Albert  Nyanza  again,  Ijut  that  we  shall 
have  to  wait  afterwards  at  least  two  months  before  he 
can  get  his  people  together.  Instead  of  setting  to  work 
during  our  absence  to  collect  his  people  and  prepare 
for  the  journey,  it  is  proposed  to  wait  until  my  return 
with  the  rear  column,  when  it  is  expected  I  shall  go  as 
far  as  Duffle'  to  persuade  the  people  to  follow  me.  He 
still  feels  assured  his  people  will  not  go  to  Egypt, 
but  may  be  induced  to  march  as  far  as  the  Victoria 
Nyanza, 

I  asked  him  if  the  report  was  true  that  he  had  cap- 
tured 13,000  head  of  cattle  during  an  incursion  to  the 
western  cattle-lands. 

"  Oh,  no  ;  it  is  an  exaggeration.  A  certain  Bakhit 
Bey  succeeded  in  taking  8000  head  during  a  raid  he 
made  in  Makraka,  during  Eaouf  Pasha's  Governor- 
Generalship  ;  but  he  was  severely  censured  for  the  act, 
as  such  wholesale  raiding  only  tended  to  depopulate  a 
country.  That  has  been  the  greatest  number  of  cattle 
obtained  at  one  time.  I  have  had  occasion  to  order 
forays  to  be  made  to  obtain  food,  but  1600  head  has 
been  the  greatest  number  we  have   ever  succeeded  in 


424  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     obtaining  at  one  time.     Other  forays  have  resulted  in 
May  14.   iji-ingiug  US  500,  800,  and  1200  head." 

Both  yesterday  and  to-day  have  been  very  pleasant. 
The  temperature  of  air  in  shade,  according  to  Fahrenheit, 
has  been  as  follows  : — 


Nsabe. 


9  A.M.      Bl 

eeze 

fr 

om  S.E. 

86° 

10.30  A.M. 

88°  30" 

1.30  P.M. 

88°  30" 

7  P.M 

76° 

Midnight 

73° 

6  A.M. 

73° 

Compensated  aneroid.     Mean  2' 350  feet  aV>ove  sea. 

Ma  J/  16th. — Nsabe'  Camp. 

The  steamer  Khedive  departed  this  morning  for  Mswa 
Station  and  Tunguru,  and  probably  for  Wadelai,  to 
hurry  up  a  certain  number  of  porters  to  replace  our 
men  lost  "by  starvation  in  the  wilderness.  Captain 
Casati  and  Mons.  Vita  Hassan,  the  Tunisian  apothecary, 
have  sailed  with  her. 

In  order  to  keep  my  men  occupied,  I  have  begun 
cutting  a  straight  road  through  the  plain  towards 
Badzwa  Village.  When  we  take  our  departure  hence 
we  shall  find  our  advantage  in  the  shorter  cut  than  by 
taking  the  roundabout  path  by  Nyamsassi  Island  and 
the  site  of  old  Kavalli. 

Fetteh,  our  interpreter,  Vs'ounded  in  the  stomach  at 
the  skirmish  of  Besse,  is  now  quite  recovered,  and  is 
fast  regaining  his  old  weight. 

Mabruki,  the  son  of  Kassim,  so  mangled  l)y  the 
buffalo  the  other  day,  is  slowly  improving. 

The  man  wounded  by  a  spear  in  the  back  during  his 
foray  into  the  villages  of  Laiido,  shows  also  signs  of 
rapid  recovery. 

We  live  in  hay-cock  huts  now,  and  may  consider 
ourselves  householders  (according  to  Emin  Pasha)  of  the 
Albert  Nyanza  Province. 

May  17///. — Nsal)e  Camp. 

Our  road  is  now  2,;J()0  paces  long  towards  ])adzwa 
Village. 

Mai/  18///.-  Nsnbr  (*ainp. 

Our  liuntcrs,  when  receiving  cartridges,  insist  on  their 


THE  PASHA   AND    THE  SEXTANT.  425 

being  laid  on  the  ground.     Ill  luck  would  follow  if  the     1888. 
cartridges  were  delivered  to  them  from  the  hand.  ^^^  7' 

I  have  been  instructing  the  Pasha  in  the  use  of  the  "*  ^' 
sextant  the  last  two  days  preparatory  to  taking  lessons 
in  navigation.  His  only  surveying  instrument  hitherto 
has  been  a  prismatic  compass,  and  as  he  has  never  been 
taught  to  discover  its  variation,  it  is  probable  that  his 
surveys  have  been  from  magnetic  bearings. 

The  son  of  Kassim,  the  victim  to  the  fury  of  an 
angry  buffalo,  called  me  this  morning  to  his  bedside,  that 
I  might  register  his  last  washes  respecting  the  wages 
due  to  him.  His  friend  Maruf  and  adopted  brother 
Sungoro  are  to  be  the  legatees.  Poor  Mabruki  desired 
to  remember  another  friend,  but  the  legatees  begged  him 
not  to  Jill  the  Master  s  hook  until  names.  He  was  so 
dejected  that  I  told  him  that  the  doctor  had  great  faith 
that  he  would  recover.  "  You  are  in  no  danger.  Your 
wounds  are  very  bad,  but  they  are  not  mortal,  and  as 
the  Pasha  will  take  care  of  you  in  my  absence,  I  shall 
find  you  a  strong  man  when  I  return.  Why  do  you 
grieve  to-day  ? " 

"  Ah,  it  is  because  something  tells  me  I  shall  never 
see  the  road  again.  See,  is  not  my  body  a  ruin  ? " 
Indeed  he  was  a  pitiable  sight,  right  eye  almost  obscured, 
two  ribs  broken,  right  thigh  and  fork  lacerated  in  the 
most  dreadful  manner. 

The  Chief  Mbiassi  of  Kavalli  departed  homeward  two 
days  ago.  Mpigwa,  Chief  of  Nyamsassi,  and  his  retinue 
left  yesterday.  Kyya-nkondo  or  Katonza,  for  he  has 
two  names,  also  went  his  way  (which,  by  the  way,  is  in 
the  wilderness  owino;  to  a  late  visit  of  Kabba  Kega's 
brigands),  while  Mazamboni's  people  after  entertaining 
the  Pasha  and  his  officers  with  a  farewell  dance  last 
night,  took  their  leave  this  morning. 

Three  buffalo  and  a  water  buck  were  shot  yesterday 
by  two  of  our  hunters. 

The  last  four  days  and  nights  have  given  us  better 
thoughts  of  this  African  land  and  lake  shore  than  w^e 
previously  entertained.  The  weather  has  been  some- 
what warm,  but  the  lake  breeze  blowing  light  and  soft, 


426 


IN  DAHKEST  AFRICA. 


1888.  just  strong  enough  to  swing  pendulous  foliage,  has  been 
^"•^  ^^*  cooling  and  grateful.  The  nights  have  been  more 
refreshing.  In  a  sky  of  radiant  brightness  the  moon 
has  stood  high  above  the  plateau's  crown,  turning  the 
lake  into  a  quivering  silver  j^lain,  the  lake  surf  so 
blustering  and  restless,  rolls  in  a  slow  and  languid 
cadence  on  a  gray  shore  of  sand  before  the  light 
breath  of  an  eastern  wind.  As  if  to  celebrate  and 
honour  this  peaceful  and  restful  life,  the  Zanzibaris  and 
natives,  who,  last  December  were  such  furious  foes, 
rival  one  another  with  sono;  and  chorus  and  strenuous 
dance  to  a  late  hour  each  night. 


.J^. 


THE    8T1;AMKU.S    "KHEDIVE        AND    "NYANZA        ON    LAKE    ALBEUT. 

]\T<ni  19//t. — Nsabc  Camp. 

Our  road  towards  Badzwa  is  now  three  and  a 
tliird  miles  long.  We  have  but  to  hoe  up  the  grass 
along  a  line,  and  we  have  a  l)eautiful  patli,  with  the 
almost  imperceptible  rise  of  1  foot  in  200. 

Mai/  20///. — Nsabe'  Camp. 

Captui-ed  two  small  Ijrown  snakes  of  a  slight  coppery 
tint  in  my  tent  this  morning. 

May  2l6-^.— Nsa}>e  (kmp. 


THE  "KHEDIVE"   AND   "  NFANZA"    STEAMERS.       427 

The  Paslia  is  now  able  to  read  the  sextant  very  well.  isss. 
He  has  also  made  an  advance  towards  finding  index  ^'""^  ^^ 
error  ;  though  he  labours  under  the  infirmity  of  short 
sight,  he  is  quick  and  devoted  to  his  intention  of 
acquiring  the  art  oi  observing  l)y  the  instrument.  At 
noon  we  took  meridian  altitude  for  practice.  He 
observed  altitude  was  70°  54'  40"  at  one-and-half  miles 
distant,  height  of  eye  five  feet.    Index  error  to  add  3'  1 5". 

May  22nd. — Nsabe  Camp. 

The  steamers  Khedive  and  Nyanza,  the  latter  towing 
a  lighter,  appeared  to-day  about  9  a.m.,  bringing  80 
soldiers,  with  the  Major  and  Adjutant  of  the  2nd 
Battalion,  and  130  carriers  of  the  Madi  tribe.  We 
received  gifts  of  raki  (ten-gallon  demijohn,  a  kind  of 
Eussian  vodka,  from  the  Pasha's  distillery,  pome- 
granates, oranges,  water-melons,  and  more  onions,  be- 
sides six  sheep,  four  goats,  and  a  couple  of  strong 
donkeys,  one  for  myself  and  one  for  Doctor  Parke). 
The  Nyanza  steamer  is  about  60  feet  by  12.  I  propose 
leaving  the  Albert  liake  for  my  journey  in  search  of 
the  rear  column  of  the  Expedition  the  day  after  to- 
morrow. 

I  leave  with  the  Pasha,  Mr.  Mounteney  Jephson, 
three  Soudanese  soldiers,  and  Binza,  Doctor  Junker's 
boy,  besides  the  unhappy  Mabruki.  Of  the  baggage  we 
carried  here,  exclusive  of  thirty-one  cases  Eemingtons 
already  delivered,  I  leave  two  boxes  Winchesters,  one 
box  of  brass  rods,  lamp,  and  sounding  iron  ;  also  my 
steel  boat,  Advance^  with  her  equipments. 

In  accordance  with  the  request  of  the  Pasha,  I  have 
drawn  up  a  message,  which  Mr.  Jephson  will  read  to  the 
troops.      It  is  as  follows  : — 

Soldiers, — After  many  months  of  hard  travel,  I  have  at  last  reached  the 
Nyanza.  I  have  come  expressly  at  the  command  of  the  Khedive  Tewfik,  to 
lead  yon  out  of  here  and  show  you  the  way  home.  For  you  must  know 
tliat  the  Eiver  el  Abiad  is  closed,  that  Khartoum  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
followers  of  Mohamed  Achmet,  that  the  Pasha  Gordon  and  all  his  people 
were  killed,  and  that  all  the  steamers  and  boats  between  Berber  and  the 
Bahr  Ghazal  have  been  taken,  and  that  the  nearest  Ec;yptian  station  to 
you  is  Wady  Haifa,  below  Don?;ola.  Four  times  the  Ivliedive  and  your 
friends  have  made  attempts  to  save  you.  First,  Gordon  Pasha  was  sent 
to  Khartoum  to  bring  you  all  homo.     After  ten  mouths  of  hard  fighting 


Nsabe, 


428  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

jggg  Khartoum  was  taken,  and  Gordon  Pasha  was  killed,  he  and  his  soldiers. 
May  22.  Next  came  the  English  soldiers  under  Lord  Wolseley  to  try  and  help 
Gordon  Pasha  out  of  his  troubles.  They  were  four  days  too  late,  for 
they  found  Gordon  was  dead  and  Khartoum  was  lost.  Then  a  Doctor 
Leuz,  a  great  tiaveller,  was  sent  by  way  of  the  Congo  to  find  out  how 
you  could  be  assisted.  But  Lenz  could  not  find  men  enough  to  go  with 
him,  and  so  he  was  obliged  to  go  home.  Also  a  Doctor  Fischer  was  sent 
by  Doctor  Junker's  brother,  but  there  were  too  many  enemies  in  the 
path,  and  he  also  returned  home.  I  tell  you  these  things  to  prove  to 
you  that  you  have  no  right  to  think  that  you  have  been  forgotten  in 
Egypt.  No,  the  Khedive  and  his  Wazir,  Nubar  Pasha,  have  all  along 
kept  you  in  mind.  They  have  heard  by  way  of  Uganda  how  bravely 
you  have  held  to  your  post,  and  how  stanch  you  have  been  to  your 
duties  as  soldiers.  Therefore  they  sent  me  to  tell  you  this ;  to  tell  yoii  that 
you  are  well  remembered,  and  that  your  reward  is  waiting  for  you,  but  that 
you  must  follow  me  to  Egypt  to  get  your  pay  and  your  reward.  At  the 
same  time  the  Khedive  says  to  you,  througli  me,  that  if  you  think  the 
road  too  long,  and  are  afraid  of  the  journey,  that  you  may  stay  here, 
but  in  that  case  you  are  no  longer  his  soldiers ;  tliat  your  j^ay  stops  at 
orce;  and  in  any  trouble  that  may  hereafter  befall  you,  you  are  not  to 
blame  him,  but  yourselves.  Should  you  decide  to  go  to  Egypt,  I  am  to 
show  you  the  way  to  Zanzibar,  put  you  on  board  a  steamer  and  take 
you  to  Suez,  and  thence  to  Cairo,  and  that  you  will  get  your  jiay  until 
you  arrive  there,  and  that  all  promotions  given  you  will  be  secured,  and 
all  rewards  promised  you  here  will  be  paid  in  full. 

I  send  you  one  of  my  officers,  Mr.  Jophson,  and  give  him  my  sword, 
to  read  tliis  message  to  you  from  me.  I  go  back  to  collect  my  people 
and  goods,  and  bring  Ihem  on  to  the  Nyanza,  and  after  a  few  months  1 
shall  come  back  here  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say.  If  you  say.  Let  us 
go  to  Egypt,  I  will  then  show  you  a  safe  road.  If  you  say,  We  shall  not 
leave  this  country,  then  I  will  bid  you  farewell  and  return  to  Egypt  with 
my  own  peojile. 

May  God  have  you  in  His  keeping. 

Your  good  friend, 

(Signed)     Stanley. 

May  2Srd. — Halt. 

The  Zanzibaris  entertained  the  Pasha  and  his  officers 
to-niglit  with  a  farewell  dance.  Though  they  are  quite 
well  aware  of  the  dangers  and  fatigue  of  the  journey 
before  them,  which  will  commence  to-morrow,  there  are 
no  symptoms  of  misgiving  in  any  of  them.  But  it  is 
certain  that  some  of  them  will  take  their  last  look  of  the 
Pasha  to-morrow. 

Aid//  2Ath. — March  to  Badzwa  village,  10  miles;  per- 
formed it  in  4  hours. 

Emiu  Paslia  m.ircluMl  a  company  along  our  new  road 
at  dawn  this  iu(n'iiiiig,  and  halted  it  about  two  miles 
from  the  Lake.  Having  arranged  the  Madi  carriers 
ill  I  heir  plac(;  in  1  lie  column,  the  advance  guard  issued 
out  lioui   (aui[)  iiiid  took   the  load  towards  the  west  at 


Badzwa. 


MESSAGE   TO    THE  EOYFTIAN   TROOPS.  429 

6.15    A.M.       In    half-nn-liour    we    found    the    Pasha's     1888. 
Soudanese   drawn   up  in  line  on  one  side  of  the  road    ^^^  ^* 
They  saluted  us   as  we  passed  on,  and  the  Pasha  fer- 
vently thanked  us  and  bade  us  good-bye. 

At  the  end  of  the  new  road  twenty -one  of  the  Madis 
broke  from  the  line  of  the  column  and  disappeared 
towards  the  north  rapidly.  Fourteen  men  were  sent 
back  to  inform  the  Pasha,  while  we  held  on  our  way  to 
Badzwa.  About  a  mile  from  the  village  there  was 
another  stampede,  and  eighty-nine  Madis  deserted  in  a 
body,  but  not  without  sending  a  shower  of  arrows 
among  the  rear  guard.  The  doctor,  believing  that  this 
was  preliminary  to  an  attack  on  his  small  detachment, 
fired  his  riHe,  and  dropped  a  Madi  dead,  wdiich  precipi- 
tated the  flight  of  the  deserters.  The  remaining  nine- 
teen out  of  the  130  were  secured. 

A  second  message  was  therefore  sent  to  the  Pasha 
acquainting  him  with  the  events  of  the  march. 

When  about  five  miles  from  Nsabe  Camp,  while 
looking  to  the  south-east,  and  meditating  upon  the 
events  of  the  last  month,  my  eyes  were  directed  by  a 
boy  to  a  mountain  said  to  be  covered  with  salt,  and  I 
saw  a  peculiar  shaj)ed  cloud  of  a  most  beautiful  silver 
colour,  which  assumed  the  proportions  and  appearance  of 
a  vast  mountain  covered  w^ith  snow.  Following  its  form 
downward,  I  became  struck  with  the  deep  blue-black 
colour  of  its  base,  and  w^ondered  if  it  portended  another 
tornado  ;  then  as  the  sight  descended  to  the  gap  between 
the  eastern  and  western  plateaus,  I  became  for  the  first 
time  conscious  that  what  I  gazed  upon  was  not  the 
image  or  semblance  of  a  vast  mountain,  but  the  solid  sub- 
stance of  a  real  one,  wdth  its  summit  covered  wdth  snow. 
I  ordered  a  halt  and  examined  it  carefully  with  a  field- 
glass,  then  took  a  compass  bearing  of  the  centre  of  it, 
and  found  it  bear  215°  magnetic.  It  now  dawned  upon 
me  that  this  must  be  the  Ruwenzori,  which  was  said  to 
be  covered  with  a  white  metal  or  substance  believed  to 
be  rock,  as  reported  by  Kavalli's  two  slaves. 

This  great  mountain  continued  to  be  in  sight  most 
distinctly    for   two  hours,  but    as  we    drew  nearer   to 


430  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     Badzwa  at  the  foot  of  the  plateau,  the  lofty  wall  of  the 
^lay  24.   pia^^g^u  hid  it  from  view. 

a  zwa.  rpj^ig  discoveiy  was  announced  to  the  Pasha  in  the 
second  message  I  sent.  When  I  come  to  reflect  upon 
it,  it  strikes  me  as  singular  that  neither  Baker,  Gessi, 
Mason,  or  Emin  Pasha  discovered  it  long  ago, 

Gessi  Pasha  first  circumnavigated  the  Albert  Lake, 
steaming  along  the  western  shore  towards  the  south, 
rounding  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  and  continuing 
his  voyage  along  the  eastern  shore. 

Mason  Bey,  in  1877,  is  the  next  visitor,  and  he 
follows  the  track  of  Gessi  with  a  view  of  fixing  positions 
by  astronomical  observations,  which  his  predecessor  was 
unable  to  do. 

Emin  Pasha,  eleven  years  later,  comes  steaming  south 
in  quest  of  news  of  the  white  men  reported  to  be  at 
the  south  end  of  the  Lake. 

If  a  fair  view  of  this  snowy  mountain  can  be  obtained 
from  the  plain  of  the  Nyanza,  a  much  better  view  ought 
to  be  obtained  from  the  Lake,  and  the  wonder  is  that 
none  of  these  gentlemen  saw  it.  Whereas  Baker,  cast- 
ing his  eyes  in  its  direction,  on  a  "  beautifully  clear  day," 
views  only  an  illimitable  Lake. 

Messrs.  Jephson  and  Parke,  while  carrying  the  boat 
from  Kavalli's  to  the  Lake,  report  that  they  saw  snow 
on  a  mountain,  and  the  latter  officer,  pointing  to  the 
little  range  of  Unya-Kavalli,  inquired  of  me  on  his 
return  if  it  was  possible  that  snow  would  be  found  on 
such  hills.  As  their  highest  peak  cannot  be  5,500  feet 
above  the  sea,  I  replied  in  the  negative,  but  the 
doctor  said  that  lie  was  equally  certain  that  he  had 
seen  snow.  I  explained  to  liiiu  then  that  a  certain 
altitude  of  about  15,000  feet  in  the  Equatorial  regions 
is  refjuircd  l)efore  rain  can  be  congealed  into  permanent 
snow;  that  tliere  miglit  be  a  hail-storm  or  a  fall  of 
snow,  caused  by  a  cold  current,  even  on  low  altitudes  in 
a  troy)ic  region,  l)ut  sucli  cold  would  only  be  temporary, 
.•I 1 1(1  the  heat  of  tropic  waters  or  tropic  soil  would  in  a 
few  moments  cause  the  hail  and  snow  to  disappear. 
Hiaiiding  as  we  were  in  camp  aJ,   Bundi,  on   I  lie  crest  of 


Badzwa 


FIRST  SIGHT   OF  RUWENZORL  431 

ihc  plateau,  in  plain  view  of  Unya  Kavalli  and  other     1888. 
hills,  there  was  no  height  visible  anywhere  above  GOOO    *^^^  ^*' 
feet  of  an  altitude  above  the  sea. 

Considering  the  above  facts,  it  will  be  evident  that  it 
requires  a  peculiar  condition  of  the  atmosphere  to  enable 
one  to  see  the  mountain  from  a  distance  of  70  miles, 
which  I  estimate  it  at.  Near  objects,  or  those  10,  15, 
or  20  miles,  an  ordinarily  clear  atmosphere  may  enable 
us  to  distinguish  ;  but  in  such  a  humid  region  as  this 
is,  on  a  bright  day  such  a  quantity  of  vapour  is  exhaled 
from  the  heated  earth,  that  at  30  miles  it  would  be 
intensified  into  a  haze  which  no  eyesight  could  pene- 
trate. But  at  certain  times  wind-currents  clear  the 
haze,  and  expose  to  the  view  objects  which  we  wonder 
we  have  not  seen  before.  As,  for  instance,  in  December 
last,  returning  from  Nyanza  to  Fort  Bodo,  I  took  com- 
pass bearings  of  a  lofty  twin-peak  mountain  from  a 
table  hill  near  the  East  Ituri  River.  I  noted  it  down 
that  the  twin-peak  mass  was  already  seen,  and  I  pointed 
it  out  to  Mr.  Jephson.  Strange  to  say,  I  have  never 
seen  it  since,  though  I  have  been  twice  over  the  ground. 

Kavalli  passed  our  camp  this  afternoon  with  400  men 
to  assist  Emin  Pasha  -in  a  demonstration  he  proposes  to 
make  against  Kabba  Rega.  Katonza  and  Mpigwa  of 
Nyamsassi  will  also,  perhaps,  lend  an  equal  number  to 
his  assistance. 

I  received  the  following  letters  to-day  from  the 
Pasha.  When  he  talks  of  pride  and  joy  at  being  in  our 
company,  I  think  we  are  all  unanimous  in  believing 
that  he  has  given  us  as  much  pleasure  as  we  have 
given  him. 

Nsabe  Camp, 
Ihfh  May,  1888,  5  a.m. 
Dear  Sie, 

I  should  not  need  to  tell  yon  how  distressed  I  have  been  when 
I  heard  of  tlie  misfortune  hap])ened  by  the  desertion  of  onr  Madi  people. 
I  at  once  sent  out  different  searching  parties,  but  I  am  sorry  to  state  that 
up  to  noon  their  efforts  were  of  no  avail,  althoiigh  Shukri  Agha  and 
his  party,  who  went  yesterday  to  Kahanama,  have  not  returned. 

By  a  mere  chance  it  happened  that  when  Dr.  Parke  came  a  boat  from 
Mswa  station  had  arrived,  bringing  me  intelligence  of  tlie  arrival  there  of 
120  porters  from  Duffle.  I  therefore  started  immediately  the  Khedive 
steamer  to  bring  them  here,  and  expect  her  back  this  very  night,  when. 


I 


432  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.      ^^  ^^^  arrival,  I  shall  start  the  whole  gang,  accompanied  by  a  detachment 
May  24.    of  my  people. 

Badzwa  Allow  me  to  be  the  first  to  congratulate  you  on  your  most  splendid 
discovery  of  a  snow-clad  mountain.  We  will  take  it  as  a  good  omen  for 
further  directions  on  our  road  to  Victoria.*  I  propose  to  go  out  on  your 
track  to-day  or  to-morrow,  just  to  have  a  look  at  this  giant. 

In  expectance  of  two  words  of  you  this  morning  I  venture  to  offer  you 
my  best  wishes  for  the  future.     I  always  shall  remember  with  pride  and 
joy  the  few  days  I  was  permitted  to  consort  with  you. 
Believe  me,  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

(Signed)        De.  M.  Emin. 

Nsabe  Camp, 
26</i  il/a?/,  1888,  2  30  A.M. 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  very  welcome  and  most  interesting  note  of  yesterday  has 
reached  me  at  the  hands  of  your  men.  The  steamer  has  come  in  this 
very  instant,  but  she  brought  only  eighty-two  carriers,  the  rest  having 
run  away  on  tlie  road  between  Tunguru  and  Mswa.  I  send,  therefore, 
these  few  men,  accompanied  by  twenty -five  soldiers  and  an  officer,  hoping 
they  may  be  of  some  use  to  you.  Their  arms  having  been  collected  I 
handed  them  to  the  officer,  from  whom  you  will  kindly  receive  them. 
We  heard  yesterday  evening  that  your  runaways  had  worked  their  way 
to  Mnganga,  telling  the  people  they  were  sent  by  me. 

The  ten  men  you  kindly  sent  here  accompanying  the  carriers  as  well 
as  Kavalli  and  his  men.  Having  caught  yesterday  a  spy  of  Eavidongo  f 
in  Katonza's  Camp,  I  told  this  latter  he  would  better  retire,  and  he  acted 
on  this  advice.  I  have  acquainted  Kavalli  with  my  reasons  for  not 
interfering  just  now  with  Eavidongo,  and  have  asked  him  to  return  to 
you.  He  readily  assented  ;  he  had  some  presents,  and  starts  now  with 
the  courier.  He  entreats  me,  farther,  to  beg  you  to  send  some  of  your 
men  to  take  hold  of  his  brother  Kadongo,  wlio  stays,  says  lie,  with  the 
Wawitu  somewhere  near  to  his  residence. 

I  shall  try  liard  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  new  snow  mountain,  as  well 
from  here  as  from  some  other  points  I  propose  to  visit.  It  is  wonderful 
to  think  how,  wherever  you  go,  you  distance  your  predecessors  by  your 
discoveries. 

And  now  as  this,  for  some  time  at  least,  is  probably  the  last  word  I 
•will  be  able  to  address  you,  let  me  another  time  thank  you  for  the 
generous  exertions  you  have  made,  and  you  are  to  make  for  us.  Let  me 
another  time  thaidc  you  for  the  kindness  and  forbearance  you  have  shown 
me  in  our  mutual  relations.  If  I  cannot  find  adequate  words  to  express 
what  moves  me  in  this  instant  you  will  forgive  me.  I  lived  too  long  in 
Africa  for  not  l)econiing  somewhat  negrofied. 

God  s])eed  you  on  your  course  and  bless  your  work! 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

(Signed)        Dr.  Emin. 

May  25th  <iud  lOtli. — Halt  at  Badzwa. 
Tlie    Pasha    has   abandoned    his    idea    of    makincj   a 
demonstration  a<^ainst  Unyoro,  and  his  allies,  who  have 

*  It  is  clear  that  hr  was  smitten  with  the  Victoria  Lake  proposition. 
t  Kavidongo,  one  of  the  i)rinci])al  generals  of  Kabba  Eega. 


Bundl. 


TWO   LETTERS   FROM  EMIN  FASIIA.  433 

much  to  avenge,  have  been   quickly  dismissed  home-     1888. 
ward.  ^=^^26. 

In  the  afternoon  Balegga  descended  from  Bundi  Hill 
Village,  and  secretly  informed  us  that  Kadongo  and 
Musiri — the  latter  a  warlike  and  powerful  chief — have 
banded  tlieir  forces  together  and  intend  to  attack  us  on 
the  road  between  Gavira's  and  Mazamboni's.  We  have 
given  neither  of  them  any  cause  for  this  quarrel,  unless 
our  friendship  with  their  rivals  may  be  deemed  sufficient 
and  legitimate.  I  have  only  111  rifles  and  ten  rounds 
of  ammunition  for  each  rifle,  to  reach  Fort  Bodo,  125 
miles  distant.  If  any  determined  attack  is  made  on  us 
in  the  open  countr}^,  a  few  moments'  firing  will  make  us 
helpless.  Therefore  I  shall  have  to  resort  to  other 
measures.  It  was  held  by  Thomas  Carlyle  that  it  was 
the  highest  wisdom  to  know  and  believe  that  the  stern 
thing  which  necessity  ordered  to  be  done  was  the  wisest, 
the  best,  and  the  only  thing  wanted  there.  I  will 
attack  Kadongo  first,  and  then  march  straight  upon 
Musiri,  and  we  will  spend  our  last  shots  well,  if  necessary. 
It  may  be  this  bold  movement  will  upset  the  combi- 
nation. 

The  Pasha  has  acted  quickly.  Eighty-two  fresh 
carriers  arrived  at  noon,  under  a  strong  guard,  and  three 
soldiers  specially  detailed  to  accompany  me.  On  their 
delivery  to  us,  each  Zanzibari  received  a  Madi  to  guard. 

At  half-past  three  in  the  afternoon  w^e  commenced 
the  steep  ascent  up  the  terrible  slope  of  the  plateau, 
with  a  burning  sun  in  our  front,  and  reached  the  crest 
at  Bundi  camp  at  6.30  p.m.,  a  half-hour  after  sunset. 

After  placing  strong  guards  round  the  camp,  I 
selected  a  band  of  forty  rifles  of  the  choicest  men  under 
two  Zanzibari  chiefs,  and  prepared  them  for  a  surprise 
party  to  attack  Kadongo's  camp  by  night.  A  few  of 
our  native  allies  volunteered  to  shoAV  the  hill  village  he 
was  occupying. 

At  1  A.M.  the  party  was  despatched. 

May  27th. — At  8  a.m.  the  party  detailed  against 
Kadongo  returned,  having  effected,  their  mission  most 
successfully,  but  Kadongo  himself  escaped   by  crying 

VOL.    I.  CO 


Uzaaza. 


484  JN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  out  tliat  he  Was  a  friend  of  "  Bula  Matari."  No  cattle 
May  27.  ^^^  goats  weic  taken,  because  the  place  was  only  occu- 
pied by  Kadongo's  band  for  temporary  purposes. 

We  then  lifted  our  burdens  and  began  our  march 
towards  Gavira's.  We  had  barely  started  when  we 
discovered  a  larije  band  of  men  advancins;  towards 
us,  preceded  by  a  man  bearing  a  crimson  flag,  which  at 
a  distance  might  be  taken  for  that  of  Zanzibar  or  Egypt. 
We  halted,  wondering  wliat  party  this  might  be,  but 
in  a  few  moments  we  recognised  Katto,  Mazamboni's 
brotlier,  who  had  been  sent  by  his  chief  to  greet  us  and 
learn  our  movements.  AVe  admired  the  aptness  of 
these  people  in  so  soon  learning  to  follow  the  direction 
given  to  them,  for  had  not  the  flag  held  us  in  suspense, 
we  might  have  injured  our  friends  by  taking  them  for 
the  van  of  Musiri's  war-party. 

Retaining  a  few  of  them  to  follow  us,  I  ordered 
Katto  to  return  quickly  to  Mazamboni,  his  brother, 
and  secretly  inform  him  that  as  Musiri  intended  to 
attack  us  on  the  road,  I  intended  to  attack  him  at  dawn 
the  day  after  to-morrow,  and  that  I  expected  from 
Mazamboni,  as  my  ally,  that  he  would  bring  as  many 
men  as  he  could  sometime  that  next  day.  Katto 
declared  the  thing  possible,  though  it  was  a  short 
notice  for  the  distance  to  be  travelled.  We  were  at 
the  time  six  miles  from  Gavira's,  thence  to  Mazamboni's 
Ailhige  was  thirteen  miles,  and  l)ack  again  to  Gavira's 
would  l)e  another  thirteen  miles,  and  in  the  meantime 
some  delay  would  l)e  necessary  to  secretly  nmster  a 
Kutlicient  Ijody  of  warriors  l)econiing  Mazamboni's  rank, 
and  prepare  rations  for  a  few  days. 

We  an'i\'ed  at  Gavira's  a1)out  noon.  Here  I  pro- 
posed to  (Javira  to  join  me  in  the  attack,  wliicli  the 
chief  as  readily  promised. 

^f<(!/  2Hf/i. — Tfalt.  AVe  have  received  abundant  con- 
tribulioiis  of  (bod  for  our  force,  which  numbers  now  111 
Z.iii/iliaiis,  ;;  whites,  G  cooks  and  boys,  101  Madis,  and 
,''>  soMic-i's  belonging  to  the  Paslia  total  224,  exclusive 
of"  ;i  few  (lo/('ii  natives  wlio  voluularily  follow  us. 

All    lioiii-   after  sunset  Mazaml)oiii    ai'i-i\'(^(l   in  pei'soii 


Usiri. 


Musmrs  CAMP  deserted.  435 

with  about  1000  warriors  armed  with  bows  and  spears.  1888. 
His  force  was  camped  in  the  potato  fields  between  "^^^jj^ 
Gavira's  and  Musiri's  district. 

May  29t/L — At  three  o'clock  a.m.  we  set  out  for  Usiri 
on  a  N.W.  road,  a  bright  moon  lighting  the  way. 
About  100  of  the  boldest  of  Mazamboni's  corps  preceded 
our  force.  The  others  fell  in  line  behind,  and  Gavira's 
tribe,  represented  by  about  500  men,  brought  up  the 
rear.     A  deep  silence,  befitting  our  purpose,  prevailed. 

At  6  A.M.  we  reached  the  outskirts  of  Usiri,  and  in  a 
few  moments,  each  chief  having  received  his  instruc- 
tions, Dr.  Parke,  in  charge  of  sixty  rifles  to  keep  the 
centre,  Katto,  in  charge  of  his  brother's  warriors  to  form 
the  left  wing,  and  Mpinga  and  Gavira  with  his  men  to 
form  the  right,  the  attacking  force  moved  on  swiftly. 

The  results  were  ludicrous  in  the  extreme.  Mpinga's 
Wahuma  herdsmen  had  given  notice  to  Musiri's 
Wahuma  herdsmen,  and  Mazamboni's  Wahuma  had  been 
just  as  communicative  to  their  fellow-countrymen  with 
the  enemy.  Consequently  the  herdsmen  had  driven 
all  the  herds  from  Usiri  by  other  roads  ;  a  half  of  them 
arrived  at  Gavira's,  and  the  other  half  at  Mazamboni's, 
just  at  the  same  morning  when  the  attacking  force 
poured  over  the  land  of  Usiri,  and  Musiri,  the  chief, 
after  hearing  of  the  disaster  to  Kadongo,  and  of  the 
mighty  army  to  be  brought  against  him,  took  tender 
care  that  not  one  soul  under  his  sway  should  be 
injured.  The  land  was  quite  empty  of  people,  herds, 
flocks,  and  fowls,  but  the  granaries  were  heaped  full  of 
grain,  the  fields  exhibited  abundant  crops  of  potatoes, 
beans,  young  Indian  corn,  vegetables,  and  tobacco.  I 
am  secretly  glad  of  the  bloodless  termination  of  the 
affair.  My  object  has  been  gained.  We  have  saved 
our  extremely  scanty  supply  of  ammunition,  and  the 
road  is  clear  from  further  troul)le.  ]\Iazamboni  and 
Gavira,  I  believe,  w^ere  also  delighted,  though  they 
expressed  themselves  mortified. 

In  one  of  the  huts  was  discovered  the  barrel  of  a 
carbine  and  percussion  lock.  The  latter  bore  the  brand 
of  "John   Clive  III,  530."     This   is  a  relic  of  Kabba 


436  IN  DAIiKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     Rega's  visit,  whose  men  were  sadly  defeated  by  Musiri 

May  29.   ^bout  a  year  ago. 

In  the  afternoon  Mazamboni's  warriors,  1000  strong, 
joined  to  celebrate  the  bloodless  victory  over  Musiri  in 
a  phalanx  dance.  Dancing  in  Africa  mainly  consists  of 
rude  buffoonery,  extravagant  gestures,  leaping  and 
contortions  of  the  body,  while  one  or  many  drums  keep 
time.  There  is  always  abundance  of  noise  and  loud 
laughter,  and  it  serves  the  purpose  of  furnishing  amuse- 
ment to  the  barbarians,  as  the  dervish-like  whirling  and 
pirouetting  give  to  civilised  people.  Often  two  men 
step  out  of  a  semicircle  of  their  fellow  villagers,  and 
chant  a  duet  to  the  sound  of  a  drum  or  a  horn  amid 
universal  clapping  of  hands,  or  one  performs  a  solo 
while  dressed  most  fantastically  in  cocks'  feathers,  strings 
of  rattling  gourds,  small  globular  bells,  and  heaps  of 
human,  monkey,  and  crocodile  teeth,  which  are  the 
African  jewels ;  but  there  must  always  be  a  chorus,  the 
grander  the  better,  and  when  the  men,  women,  and 
children  lift  their  voices  high  above  the  drums,  and  the 
chatter  and  murmur  of  the  crowd,  I  must  confess  to  having 
enjoyed  it  immensely,  especially  when  the  Wanyamwezi 
are  the  performers,  who  arc  by  far  the  best  singers  on 
the  African  continent.  The  Zanzibaris,  Zulus,  Waiau, 
Wasegara,  Waseguhha,  and  Wangindo  are  in  the  main 
very  much  alike  in  method  and  execution,  though  they 
have  each  minor  dances  and  songs,  which  vary  con- 
siderably, but  they  are  cither  dreadfully  melancholiac  or 
stupidly  barbarous.  The  Wasoga,  Waganda,  AVakerewe, 
Wazongora,  around  Lake  Victoria,  are  more  subdued,  a 
crude  bardic,  with  something  of  the  whine  of  the  Orient — 
Mustaplia,  or  Hussein,  or  Hassan,  moaning  below  lattices 
to  the  obdurate  Fatima  or  stony-eared  Koxana.  Except 
the  Wanyamwezi,  I  have  not  heard  any  music  or  seen 
any  dance  which  would  have  pleased  an  English 
audience  accustomed  to  the  plantation  dances  repre- 
sented in  a  certain  hall  in  Piccadilly  until  this  day,  when 
the  Bandussuma,  under  Katto,  tlic  brother  of  Mazamboni, 
led  the  chief  wanioi-s  to  the  plialanx  dance.  Half  a 
score  of  drums,  large  and  small,  had  been  beaten   by 


Usiri. 


A   PHALANX  DANCE.  437 

half  a  score  of  accomplished  performers,  keeping  isss. 
admirable  time,  and  emitting  a  perfect  volume  of  sound  ^^J_  ^^ 
which  must  have  been  heard  far  away  for  miles,  and  in 
the  meantime  Katto,  and  his  cousin  Kalenge,  adorned 
with  glorious  tufts  of  white  cocks'  feathers,  were 
arranging  thirty-three  lines  of  thirty-three  men  each  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  form  of  a  perfect  and  solid  and 
close  square.  Most  of  these  men  had  but  one  spear  each, 
others  possessed  two  besides  their  shields  and  quivers, 
which  were  suspended  from  the  neck  down  the  back. 

The  phalanx  stood  still  with  spears  grounded  until,  at 
a  signal  from  the  drums,  Katto's  deep  voice  was  heard 
breaking  out  into  a  wild  triumphant  song  or  chant,  and 
at  a  particular  uplift  of  note  raised  his  spear,  and  at 
once  rose  a  forest  of  spears  high  above  their  heads,  and 
a  mighty  chorus  of  voices  responded,  and  the  phalanx 
was  seen  to  move  forward,  and  the  earth  around  my 
chair,  which  was  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards  from  the 
foremost  line,  shook  as  though  there  was  an  earthquake. 
I  looked  at  the  feet  of  the  men  and  discovered  that 
each  man  was  forcefully  stamping  the  ground,  and 
taking  forward  steps  not  more  than  six  inches  long, 
and  it  was  in  this  manner  that  the  phalanx  moved 
slowly  but  irresistibly.  The  voices  rose  and  fell  in 
sweeping  waves  of  vocal  sound,  the  forest  of  spears  rose 
and  subsided,  with  countless  flashes  of  polished  iron 
blades  as  they  were  tossed  aloft  and  lowered  again  to 
the  hoarse  and  exciting  thunder  of  the  drums.  There 
was  accuracy  of  cadence  of  voice  and  roar  of  drum, 
there  was  uniform  uplift  and  subsidence  of  the  constantly 
twirling  spear  blades,  there  was  a  simultaneous  action 
of  the  bodies,  and  as  they  brought  the  tremendous 
weight  of  seventy  tons  of  flesh  with  one  regular  stamp 
of  the  feet  on  the  ground,  the  firm  and  hard  earth 
echoed  the  sound  round  about  tremulously.  With  all 
these  the  thousand  heads  rose  and  drooped  together, 
rising  when  venting  the  glorious  volume  of  energy, 
drooping  with  the  undertone  of  wailing  murmur  of  the 
multitude.  As  they  shouted  with  faces  turned  upward 
and  heads  bent  back  to  give  the  fullest  efiect  to  the 


438  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


1888.     ascending  tempest  of  voices,  suggestive  of  quenchless 
May  29.   f^y^  wratli  and  exterminating  war,  it  appeared  to  inflate 


U^iirL 


every  soul  with  the  passion  of  deadly  battle  and  every 
eye  of  the  onlookers  glowed  luridly,  and  their  right 
arms  with  clenched  fists  were  shaken  on  high  as  though 
their  spirits  were  thrilled  with  the  martial  strains ;  but 
as  the  heads  were  turned  and  bowed  to  the  earth  we 
seemed  to  feel  war's  agony,  and  grief,  and  woe,  to  thmk 
of  tears,  and  widows'  wails,  and  fatherless  orphans' 
cries,  of  ruined  hearths  and  a  desolated  land.  But 
again  as  the  nia.^s,  still  steadily  drawing  nearer,  tossed 
their  heads  backward,  and  the  bristling  blades  flashed 
and  clashed,  and  the  feathers  streamed  and  gaily 
rustled,  there  was  a  loud  snort  of  defiance  and  such  an 
exulting  and  energising  storm  of  sound  that  man  saw 
only  the  glorious  colours  of  victory  and  felt  only  the 
proud  pulses  of  triumph. 

Eight  up  to  my  chair  the  great  solid  mass  of  wildly 
chanting  natives  advanced,  and  the  front  line  lowered 
their  spears  in  an  even  line  of  bright  iron ;  thrice  they 
dropped  their  salute  and  thrice  they  rose,  and  then  the 
lines,  one  after  another,  broke  into  a  run,  spears 
clenched  in  the  act  of  throwing,  staffs  quivering,  war- 
whoops  ringing  shrilly.  The  excitement  was  intensified 
until  the  square  had  been  transformed  into  wheeling 
circles  three  deep,  and  after  three  circlings  round  the 
open  plaza.  Prince  Katto  took  his  position,  and  round 
him  the  racing  men  coiled  themselves  until  soon  they 
were  in  a  solid  circle.  When  this  was  completed  the 
square  was  formed,  it  was  divided  into  halves,  one  half 
returning  to  one  end,  the  other  half  to  the  other  end. 
Still  continuing  the  wild  chant,  they  trotted  towards 
one  another  and  passed  through  without  confusion, 
exclianging  sides,  and  then  once  more  in  a  rapid  circling 
of  the  village  common  with  dreadful  gestures  until  the 
eye  was  bewildered  witli  \\\e,  wlieeling  forms,  and  then 
every  man  to  liis  lint  to  laugli  and  jest,  little  heeding  what 
aspects  they  Lad  coiijiiivd  by  their  evolutions  and  chants 
witliin  me,  or  any  one  else.  It  was  certainly  one  of  the 
best  and  most  excitinu  exhibitions  1  had  seen  in  Africa. 


fjlVK^    *  ;VVV^h) 


1.'^      [Ul'J 


CAMP  AT  NZERA-KUM   HILL.  4A\ 

May  dOth. — March  to  Nzera-Kum  Hill  in  Ndusuma,     1888. 
three  hours.  ^'^y  30, 

We  marched  to  Mazamboni's  country  to  our  okl  camp  '^"^"'"^ 
at  Chongo,  which  name  the  Zanzibaris  have  given  to 
the  hill  of  Nzera-Kum,  and  wc  liad  abundant  evidence 
that  Mazamboni  was  deeply  implicated  in  the  acts  of 
the  Wahuma  herdsmen,  for  the  track  was  fresh  and 
large  of  many  a  fine  herd  of  cattle.  Presently  we  came 
in  sight  of  the  fine  herds,  who,  all  unconscious  of 
trouble,  were  browsing  on  the  fine  pasture,  and  the 
Zanzibaris  clamoured  loudly  for  permission  to  capture 
them.  For  an  instant  only  there  was  a  deep  silence, 
but  Mazamboni,  on  being  asked  the  reason  for  the 
presence  of  Musiri's  herds  on  his  territory,  answered  so 
straightforwardly  that  they  belonged  to  the  Wahuma 
who  had  fled  from  his  territory  last  December  when  he 
was  in  trouble  with  us,  and  now  to  avoid  the  same 
trouble  in  Usiri  had  returned  to  their  former  place,  and 
he  had  not  the  heart  to  prevent  them,  that  the  order 
was  given  to  move  on. 

Mm/  31st. — Halt.  Mazamboni  gave  us  a  present  of 
three  beeves  and  supplied  our  people  with  two  days  full 
rations  of  flour,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  potatoes  and 
bananas.  A  large  number  of  small  chiefs  from  the 
surrounding  districts  paid  visits  to  us,  each  bringing 
into  camp  a  contribution  of  goats,  fowls,  and  millet 
flour.  Urumangwa,  Bwessa,  and  Gunda  have  also 
made  pacts  of  friendship  with  us.  These  villages  form 
the  very  prosperous  and  extensively  cultivated  district 
which  so  astonished  us  by  its  abundance  one  December 
morning  last  year. 

Towards  evening  I  received  a  communication  from 
Musiri,  saying  that  as  all  the  land  had  made  peace  with 
me,  he  wished  to  be  reckoned  as  my  friend,  and  that 
the  next  time  I  should  return  to  the  country  he  would 
be  prepared  with  suitable  gifts  for  us. 

As  to-morrow  I  propose  to  resume  the  journey 
towards  Fort  Bodo  and  Yambuya,  let  me  set  down  what 
I  have  gleaned  from  the  Pasha  respecting  himself 


442  ^A^  DAEKEkiT  AFRICA. 


CPIAPTER    XVII. 

PERSONAL    TO    THE    PASHA. 

and  early  days  of  Kmin  Pasha— Gordon  and  the  pay  of  Emin  Pasha 
— Last  interview  with  Gordon  Pasha  in  1877— Emin's  last  supply  of 
ammunition  and  provisions — ^Five  years'  isolation — Mackay's  library 
in  Uganda  —  Emin's  abilities  and  fitness  for  his  position  —  His 
linguistic  and  other  attainments  —  Emin's  industry  —  His  neat 
journals — Story  related  to  me  by  Sliukri  Agha  referring  to  Emin's 
escape  from  Kirri  to  Mswa — Emin  confirms  the  story — Some  natural 
history  facts  related  to  me  by  Emin — The  Pasha  and  the  Dinka 
tribe — A  lion  story — Emin  and  "  bird  studies." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  make  a  biograpliical  sketch  of 
Emin  Pasha,  but  to  furnish  such  items  of  information 
as  he  delivered  them  to  me,  day  by  day,  concerning  the 
life  he  has  led  in  the  Soudan,  and  his  acquaintance  with 
his  illustrious  chief — the  ever-lamented  Gordon. 

By  birth  he  is  a  German,  but  whether  Austrian  or 
Prussian  I  know  not,  and  I  have  no  curiosity  to  know 
the  name  of  the  obscure  village  or  town  where  that 
event  happened.  He  declares  he  is  forty-eight  years 
old,  and  must  therefore  have  been  born  in  the  year 
1840.  I  fancy  that  he  must  have  been  young  when  he 
arrived  in  C(mstantinoplc,  that  some  great  man  assisted 
him  in  his  medical  studies,  that  through  the  same 
iiiHuence  prol)a})ly  he  entered  the  Turkish  service,  and 
becanic  iii('<lical  attendant  on  Ismail  Ilakki  Pasha.  If 
ioi'  lliii'ty  y(!ai's  lie  lias  served  under  llic  crescent  flag  as 
he  liiiiiself  reported,  Ik;  must  liave  begun  his  service  in 
'J'urkey  iji  the  year  1858.  lie  became  attracted  to  the 
"Young  Turk"  p.'irtv,  or  lo  llie  t'eforin  ]);ii'ty,  in 
Slaniboul.  It  liad  an  oigari,  wliich,  by  its  bold 
advocacy  of  reform,  was  three  times  suppressed  by  the 


EMIN  PASHA.  443 

authorities.      On  the  last  suppression  he  was  expelled 
from  the  country. 

He  admits  that  lie  was  in  Cbnstantinople  when  the 
assassination  of  the  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz  occurred,  though 
he  was  absent  during  the  trial  of  those  suspected  to  be 
concerned  in  it.  Coming  to  Egypt  in  December,  1875, 
he  entered  the  Egyptian  service,  and  was  despatched  to 
Khartoum. 

■^  7P  "5^  ^  ^ 

"  Gordon  first  appointed  me  as  surgeon  at  £25  a 
month.  He  then  raised  me  to  £30,  and  after  my 
mission  to  Uganda  he  surprised  me  with  increasing  my 
pay  to  £40,  but  when  I  became  Governor  of  this  Pro- 
vince my  pay  like  other  Provincial  Governors'  became 
£50  monthly.  What  the  pay  of  a  General  is  I  do  not 
know,  but  then  I  am  only  a  '  Miraman,'  a  kind  of 
civilian  Pasha,  who  receives  pay  while  employed,  but 
immediately  liis  services  are  not  required  he  becomes 
unpaid.  I  expected  to  be  made  a  military  Pasha — a 
General  of  Division." 


"  Now  Gordon  appointed  the  German  A^ice-Consul 
at  Khartoum  as  my  agent,  to  receive  my  pay,  without 
any  advice  from  me  about  it.  For  several  months  I 
believe  it  was  paid  to  him  regularly.  But  finally 
Gordon  appointed  the  same  Vice-Consul  Governor  of 
Darfour,  when  he  shortly  after  died.  When  his  effects 
were  collected  and  his  small  debts  paid,  there  were 
found  sufficient  funds  to  present  his  wife  with  £500 
and  send  her  to  Cairo,  and  to  transfer  £50  to  my 
account  as  his  principal  creditor.  A  few  months  after- 
wards Khartoum  fell,  and  what  money  had  been  de- 
posited there  after  the  Vice-Consul's  death  was  lost  of 
course.     So  that  for  eight  years  I  have  received  no  pay 

at  all." 

«  «  ^  ^  « 

"  My  last  interview  with  Gordon  Pasha  was  in  1877. 
There  had  been  an  Expedition  sent  to  Darfour,  under 
Colonel  Prout,   and  another   under   Colonel   Purdy,  for 


444  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

survey  work.  When  Gordon  became  Governor-General, 
he  requested  Stone  Pasha,  at  Cairo^  to  despatch  to  him 
one  of  these  officers,  for  survey  work  in  the  Equatorial 
Province.  Gessi  Pasha  had  already  circumnavigated 
the  Albert,  but  his  survey  was  by  compass  only.  Both 
Prout  Bey  and  Mason  Bey  were  capital  observers. 
Prout  Bey  was  the  first  to  arrive.  He  travelled  from 
Lado  to  Fatiko,  thence  to  Mruli,  on  the  Victoria  Nile, 
and  from  there  he  proceeded  to  Magungo,  on  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  and  by  a  series  of  observations  he  fixed  the 
position  of  that  point  for  all  time.  Illness  compelled 
him  to  retire  to  my  station  at  Lado.  Just  then  Mason 
Bey  arrived  in  a  steamer,  to  survey  the  Albert  Lake, 
and  by  that  steamer  I  received  an  order  to  descend  to 
Khartoum,  to  be  made  Governor  of  Massowah,  on  the 
Ked  Sea.  The  French  Consul  of  that  place  had  a  mis- 
understanding with  the  civil  Governor  there,  and  he 
had  begged  that  if  another  Governor  was  appointed,  he 
should  be  some  person  who  could  understand  French. 
I  suppose  Gordon,  knowing  me  to  be  familiar  with  the 
language,  had  elected  me.  On  reaching  Khartoum  I 
was  very  cordially  received  by  Gordon,  and  he  insisted 
on  my  taking  my  meals  with  him,  which  was  a  great 
favour,  as  he  seldom  invited  anybody  to  eat  with  him. 
However,  I  declined  living  in  the  palace,  and  break- 
fasted at  home,  but  lunch  and  dinner  Gordon  insisted  I 
should  take  with  liim.  He  had  abundance  of  work  for 
me — letters  to  the  Egyptian  Pashas  and  Beys  of  the 
various  provinces ;  letters  to  the  Catholic  Mission  of 
Gondokoro ;  letters  to  the  Pope,  to  the  Khedive,  &c.,  in 
Italian,  German,  and  Arabic.  This  went  on  for  some 
time,  when  one  day  he  sent  me  on  a  mission  to  Unyoro. 
A  little  later  I  ascended  the  river,  and  I  have  never 
seen  Gordon  since." 

"  In  June,  1882,  Abdul  Kadcr  Paslia  wrote  me  that  in 
a  couple  of  montlis  he  would  despatch  a  steamer  to  me 
with  provisions  and  annnunition.  After  waiting  nine 
months  I  obtained  fifteen  cases  only  of  amnninition,  in 
March,  188^5.      That  is  really  the  last  supply  of  anything 


EMIN  PASHA.  445 

received  from  the  outside  world  until  your  recent  arrival 

in  April,  1888.     Five  years  exactly  !" 

***** 

"  During  five  years  I  have  remained  isolated  in  this 
region  ;  not  idle,  I  hope.  I  have  been  kept  busy  in 
the  affairs  of  my  Province,  and  have  managed  to  find 
pleasure  in  many  things.  Still,  the  isolation  from  the 
civilized  world  has  made  life  rather  burthensome.  I 
could  enjoy  life  here  to  the  end,  could  I  but  obtain 
regular  news,  and  was  certain  of  communication  with 
the  outer  world,  receive  books,  periodicals,  every  month, 
two  months,  or  even  three  months.  I  envy  those 
missionaries  in  Uganda  who  receive  their  monthly 
packet  of  letters,  newspapers  and  books.  Mr.  Mackay 
has  quite  a  library  in  Uganda.  That  packet  of  "  honey- 
dew  "  tobacco  I  gave  you  the  other  day  I  obtained  from 
him.  I  received  also  a  couple  of  bottles  of  liquor,  have 
had  clothes,  writing  paper,  and  such  news  as  I  know  I 
discovered  in  the  Spectators  and  Times  now  and  then 
sent  me  by  him.  But  there  are  certain  books  upon 
subjects  which  I  am  interested  in  that  I  could  never 
obtain  through  him  without  giving  him  and  his  friends 
far  too  great  a  trouble.  Therefore  I  should  wish  a  postal 
service  of  my  own,  then  my  life  would  be  relieved  of  its 
discontent.  Ah,  those  eight  years  of  silence !  I 
cannot  put  my  feelings  in  words.     I   could   not  endure 

them  again." 

***** 

I  have  already  described  his  person  and  age,  and  cer- 
tain qualities  of  his  character  may  be  discerned  in  the 
conversation  reported  above  ;  still,  the  man  would  be 
scarcely  understood  in  the  full  compass  of  his  nature  if 
I  stopped  here.  His  abilities,  and  capacity,  and  fitness 
for  the  singular  position  in  which  he  has  been  placed 
will  be  seen  in  the  manner  in  which  he  has  managed  to 
clothe  many  of  his  troops.  Among  the  gifts  he  pressed 
upon  us  were  pieces  of  cotton  cloth  woven  by  his  own 
men,  coarse  but  strong,  and  slippers  and  shoes  from  his 
own  bootmakers.  The  condition  of  his  steamers  and 
boats  after  such  long  service,  the  manufacture  of  oil 


446  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

suitable  for  the  engines  (a  mixture  of  sesamum  oil  and 
tallow),  the  excellent  sanitary  arrangements  and  clean- 
liness and  order  of  the  stations  under  his  charge,  the 
regular  and  ungrudging  payment  of  corn  tribute  twice 
a  year  by  his  negro  subjects,  all  serve  to  demonstrate 
a  unique  character,  and  to  show  that  he  possesses  talents 
rarely  seen  in  those  who  select  Africa  for  their  field  of 
labour.  In  endeavouring  to  estimate  him,  I  pass  in 
mental  review  hundreds  of  officers  who  have  served  on 
the  Nile  and  the  Congo,  and  I  know  of  but  few  who 
would  be  equal  to  him  in  any  one  of  his  valuable  quali- 
ties. Besides  his  linguistic  attainments,  he  is  a  natu- 
ralist, something  of  a  botanist,  and,  as  a  surgeon,  I  can 
well  believe  that  thirty  years  of  an  adventurous  life 
such  as  his  has  been  would  furnish  him  with  rare  oppor- 
tunities to  make  him  wise  and  skilful  in  his  profession. 
The  language  he  has  used,  as  may  be  seen  above,  is 
something  higher  than  colloquial,  and  marks  his  attain- 
ments in  Enolish.  AVitli  his  full  sonorous  voice  and 
measured  tones,  it  sounded  very  pleasantly,  despite  the 
foreign  accent.  Upon  any  policy  treated  of  in  news- 
papers and  reviews  I  found  him  exceedingly  well 
informed,  no  matter  what  country  was  broached.  His 
manner  is  highly  courteous  and  considerate,  somewhat, 
perhaps,  too  ceremonious  for  Central  Africa,  but  highly 
becoming  a  Governor,  and  such  as  one  might  expect 
from  an  official  of  that  rank,  conscious  of  serious  respon- 
sibilities. 

Industry  seems  to  be  a  vital  necessity  of  life  with  him. 
He  is  a  model  of  painstaking  patient  effort.  No  sooner 
has  he  camped  than  he  begins  to  effect  arrangements 
orderly  and  after  method.  His  tal)le  and  chair  have 
tlieir  place,  his  journals  on  the  tabic,  the  aneroids  on  a 
convenient  stand,  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers  duly 
exposed  in  the  shade,  with  ample  air-flow  about  them. 
The  journals  are  marvels  of  neatness— blotless,  and  the 
writing  microscopically  mimite,  as  though  he  aimed  at 
oblaining  a  pi'ize  for  accui-acy,  economy,  neatness  and 
fidiility.  indeed,  most  (Germans  of  my  axjijuaintance  are 
remarka])le  ior  I  he  bulk  of  tlieir  ol)servations  and  super- 


EM  IN   PASHA.  44'J 

fine  caligraphy,  while  English-speaking  travellers  whom 

I  have  known  possess  note-books  which,  useful  as  they 

may  be  to   themselves,  would  appear  ill-kept,  blotchy 

and  scrawly  in  comparison  to  them,  and  furnish  infinite 

trouble  to  their  executors  to  edit. 

*  *  *  * 

The  following  will  illustrate  something  of  his  troubles 
during  the  five  years  he  has  been  cut  off  from  head- 
quarters at  Khartoum. 

Shukri  Agha,  Commandant  of  Mswa  station,  who 
paid  me  a  visit  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  May,  relates 
that  about  a  year  ago  190  rifles  of  the  First  Battalion 
set  out  from  Rejaf  Station  for  Kirri,  where  the  Pasha 
resided,  with  the  intent  to  capture  and  hold  him 
captive  among  themselves.  A  letter  had  been  received 
from  Dr.  Junker  from  Cairo,  stating  that  an  expedition 
was  to  be  sent  to  their  relief,  had  created  a  confused 
impression  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  of  the  First 
Battalion  that  their  Governor  intended  to  fly  in  that 
direction,  leaving  them  to  their  fate.  Convinced  that 
their  safety  lay  in  the  presence  of  their  Civil  Governor 
among  them,  they  conceived  the  idea  of  arresting  him 
and  taking  him  with  them  to  Rejaf,  which,  with  the 
more  northern  stations,  w^as  garrisoned  by  this  battalion. 
"  For,"  said  they,  '*  wc  know  only  of  one  road,  and  that 
leads  down  the  Nile  by  Khartoum."  *  The  Pasha  was 
suddenly  informed  of  their  intention  by  the  officers  of 
the  Second  Battalion,  and  cried  out,  "  AYell,  if  they  kill 
me,  I  am  not  afraid  of  death ;  let  them  come — I  will 
await  them."  This  the  officers  of  the  Second  Battalion 
at  Kirri  would  not  permit,  and  implored  him  to  make 
his  escape  before  the  malcontents  appeared,  and  argued 
that  "  the  violent  capture  and  detention  of  the  Governor 
would  put  an  end  to  all  government,  and  be  the  total 
ruin  of  all  discipline."  For  some  time  he  refused  to 
move,  but  finally,  yielding  to  their  solicitations,  escaped 
to  Mswa.      Soon  after  his  departure  the  detachment  of 

*  The  correspondence  these  people  maintained  witli  Kliartonm  compel 
me  to  doubt  whether  this  is  the  correct  reason.  Eead  Omar  Sale's  letter 
to  the  Khalifa  at  Khartoum,  farther  on. 


448  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

the  First  Battalion  appeared,  and,  after  surrounding  tlie 
station,  cried  out  a  peremptory  demand  that  the 
Governor  should  come  out  and  deliver  himself  to  them. 
They  were  answered  that  the  Governor  had  already 
departed  south  to  Muggi  and  Wadelai,  upon  which  the 
mutineers  advanced  to  the  station,  and  seized  the 
Commandant  and  his  subordinate  officials,  and  soundly 
flogged  them  with  the  kurbash,  and  afterwards  took 
most  of  them  prisoners  and  carried  them  to  Eejaf, 
whither  they  returned. 

Shukri  Agha  continued  thus  : — "  You  must  know  that 
all  the  First  Battalion  guard  the  northern  stations,  and 
every  soldier  of  that  battalion  is  opposed  to  making  any 
retreat,  and  any  suggestion  of  leaving  their  watch  post 
at  Eejaf,  the  northernmost  station,  only  makes  them 
indignant.  They  have  been  all  along  waiting  to  heai 
of  the  arrival  of  a  steamer  at  Lado,  and  are  still  firm  in 
the  belief  that  some  day  the  Pasha  at  Khartoum  will 
send  for  them.  Whatever  the  Pasha  says  to  the  con- 
trary receives  utter  disbelief  But  now  that  you  have 
arrived  by  an  opposite  road,  and  some  of  us  who  were 
with  Linant  Bey  in  1875  saw  you  in  Uganda,  and  many 
more  of  us  have  known  you  by  name,  it  is  most  likely 
all  of  them  will  be  convinced  that  the  Nile  is  not  the 
only  road  to  Egypt,  and  that  you,  having  found  them, 
can  take  them  out  of  the  country.  They  will  see  your 
officers,  they  will  see  your  Soudanese,  they  will  listen 
respectfully  to  your  message,  and  gladly  obey.  That 
is  my  own  opinion,  though  God  only  knows  what  the 
sentiments  of  the  First  Battalion  are  by  this  time,  as 
sufficient  time   has   not   elapsed  to  enable   us   to   hear 

from  tliom." 

*  *  *  *  * 

On  telling  Emin  Pasha  the  next  day  the  story  of 
Sliuki'i  Aglia,  he  said  : — 

"  Shukri  Agha  is  a  very  intelligent  and  brave  officer, 
promoted  to  liis  present  rank  for  distinguished  service 
against  Karamalla,  one  of  the  Mahdi's  generals,  when 
he  came  lien;  with  some  tliousands  to  demand  our 
surrender  to  the  authoiity  of  Mohamed  Achmet." 


KMIN   PASHA.  440 

"  His  story  is  quite  true,  except  that  he  has  omitted  to 
mention  that  with  the  190  rifles  of  the  First  Battalion 
there  were  900  armed  negroes.  Subsequently  I  learned 
that  it  had  been  their  intention  to  have  taken  me  to 
Gondokoro,  and  detain  me  there  until  the  garrisons  of 
the  southern  stations,  Wadelai,  Tunguru,  and  Mswa, 
were  collected,  and  then  to  have  marched  along  the 
riii^ht  bank  towards  Khartoum.  On  reachinof  the  neiiili- 
bourhood  of  Khartoum,  and  there  learning  that  the  city 
had  really  fallen,  they  were  then  to  disperse,  each  to 
his  own  house,  leaving  the  Cairenes  and  myself  to  shift 
as  we  mioht  for  ourselves."  * 

o 
***** 

The  following  are  some  natural  history  facts  he 
related  to  me  : — 

"  The  forest  of  Msongw^a  (see  map)  is  infested  with  a 
large  tribe  of  chimpanzees.  In  summer  time,  at  night, 
they  frequently  visit  the  plantations  of  Mswa  station  to 
steal  the  fruit.  But  what  is  remarkable  about  this  is  the 
fact  that  they  use  torches  to  light  the  way  !  Had  I 
not  witnessed  this  extraordinary  spectacle  personally 
I  should  never  have  credited  that  any  of  the  Simians 
understood  the  art  of  making  fire." 

"  One  time  these  same  chimpanzees  stole  a  native 
drum  from  the  station,  and  went  away  pounding  merrily 
on  it.  They  evidently  delight  in  that  drum,  for  I  have 
frequently  heard  them  rattling  away  at  it  in  the  silence 
of  the  night." 

He  observed  that  parrots  are  never  seen  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Albert.  Up  to  lat.  2°  N.  they  are  seen 
in  Unyoro,  but  the  Lake  people  do  not  seem  to  under- 
stand what  is  referred  to  when  parrots  are  mentioned. 

Our  people  captured  a  pair  of  very  young  mongoose, 
which  were  taken  to  the  Pasha.  They  were  accepted, 
and  ordered  to  be  nursed  on  milk.  He  declared  that 
the  mongoose,  though  he  becomes  very  tame  and  is 
exceedingly    droll,    is    a     nuisance.       Instruments    are 

*  Knowing  this,  the  Pasha  seems  to  me  to  have  been  very  imprudent 
in  adventuring  into  the  presence  of  these  rebels  without  satisfying 
himself  as  to  the  effect  his  presence  would  have  on  them. 

VOL.    I.  »  DD 


450  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

broken,  ink  scattered,  papers  and  books  are  smeared 
and  soiled  by  this  inquisitive  little  beast.  To  eggs  it 
is  especially  destructive.  If  it  finds  an  egg  of  more 
than  ordinary  hard  shell,  it  lifts  it  with  its  fore-feet  and 
lets  it  drop  until  it  is  broken. 

The  Pasha  has  much  to  say  respecting  the  Dinkas. 
Proprietors  of  cattle  among  the  Dinka  tribe  own  from 
300  to  1500  head.  They  rarely  kill,  their  cattle  being 
kept  solely  for  their  milk  and  blood.  The  latter  they 
mix  with  sesamum  oil,  and  then  eat  as  a  delicacy.  At 
the  death  of  a  herd-owner  his  nearest  kinsman  invites 
his  friends,  and  one  or  two  beeves  may  be  slaughtered 
for  the  funeral  feast ;  otherwise  one  scarcely  ever  hears 
of  a  Dinka  killing  his  cattle  for  meat.  Should  one  of 
the  herd  die  a  natural  death,  the  love  of  meat  demands 
that  it  be  eaten,  which  is  a  proof  that  conscience  does 
not  prohibit  satisfying  the  stomach  with  meat,  but 
rather  excessive  penuriousness,  cattle  being  the  Dinka's 
wealth. 

These  Dinkas  also  pay  great  reverence  to  pythons  and 
all  kinds  of  snakes.  One  of  the  Soudanese  officers  killed 
a  snake,  and  was  compelled  to  pay  a  fine  of  four  goats. 
They  even  domesticate  them,  keeping  them  in  their 
houses,  but  they  are  allowed  every  liberty,  and  to  crawl 
out  for  prey,  after  which  they  return  for  rest  and  sleep. 
They  wash  the  pythons  with  milk  and  anoint  them 
with  butter.  In  almost  every  hut  the  smaller  snakes 
may  be  heard  rustling  in  the  roofs  as  they  crawl, 
exploring  for  rats,  mice,  etc. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Nile  he  found  a  tribe  ex- 
ceedingly partial  to  lions  ;  in  fact,  one  of  them  would 
prefer  to  be  killed  than  be  guilty  of  the  death  of  a  lion. 
These  people  dug  ;i  ])it  at  one  time  for  buffaloes  and 
such  game  to  fall  into,  l)ut  it  unfortunately  happened 
that  a  lion  was  the  first  victim.  The  Soudanese  who 
discovered  it  were  al)out  to  kill  it,  when  the  chief  vetoed 
the  act  and  imf)l()red  that  the  lion  should  be  given  to 
him.  Tli(!  Soudanese  were  willing  enough,  and  curiously 
watcJKid  what  he  would  do  with  it.  The  chief  cut  a 
long  stout  pole  and  laid  it  slantwise  to  the  bottom  of 


EMJN   PASHA.  451 

the  pit,  up  which  the  lion  immediately  climl)e(l  and 
bounded  away  to  the  jungle  to  enjoy  his  liberty.  Jt 
should  be  added  that  the  noble  beast  did  not  attempt 
to  injure  any  person  near  the  pit — probably  he  was  too 
frightened  ;  though  as  pretty  a  story  might  be  made  out 
of  it  as  that  of  Androcles  and  the  lion,  did  we  not  live 
in  such  a  veracious  and  prosaic  age, 

"  Bird  studies,"  the  gray-  haired  lieutenant  from 
Cairo  declared,  were  the  Pasha's  delight.  Indeed,  he 
seems  to  find  as  great  pleasure  in  anything  relating  to 
birds  or  animals  as  in  his  military  and  civil  duties, 
though  I  have  not  observed  any  neglect  of  the  last,  and 
the  respectful  soldierly  bearing  of  his  people  in  his 
presence  marks  a  discipline  well  impressed  on  them. 
***** 

From  the  above  gleanings  of  such  conversation  as  I 
have  noted  it  will  be  clear  to  any  one  that  the  Pasha  has 
had  a  varied  life,  one  that  would  furnish  to  quiet  home- 
keeping  people  much  valuable  and  enchanting  reading 
matter.  It  may  be  hoped  he  will  see  fit  some  day  to 
exhibit  to  them  in  book  form  some  of  his  startling  life 
incidents  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and  rehearse  in  his  own 
pleasing  manner  some  of  the  most  interesting  observations 
he  has  made  during  a  long  residence  amid  a  new  and 
wild  nature. 


452  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

START   FOR    THE    RELIEF    OF  THE   REAR   COLUMN. 

Escorted  by  various  tribes  to  Mukangi — Camp  at  Ukuba  village — Arrival 
at  Fort  Bodo — Our  invalids  in  XJgarrowwa's  care — Lieutenant  Stairs' 
report  on  his  visit  to  bring  up  the  invalids  to  Fort  Bodo — Night 
visits  by  the  malicious  dwarfs — A  general  muster  of  the  garrison — I 
decide  to  conduct  the  Relief  Force  in  person — Captain  Nelson's  ill- 
health — My  little  fox-ten ier  "Randy" — Description  of  the  fort  — 
The  Zanzibaris — Estimated  time  to  perform  the  journey  to  Yambuya 
and  back — Lieutenant  Stairs'  suggestion  aboiit  the  steamer  Slanlty 
— Conversation  with  Lieutenant  Stairs  in  reference  to  Major  Barttelot 
and  the  Rear  Column — Letter  of  instructions  to  Lieutenant  Stairs. 

1888.  On  the  1st  of  June,  escorted  by  a  score  of  Mazamboni's 
June  1.  people,  we  marched  westward  from  Undussuma.  In  an 
angi.  ]^Q^j.  .^j-^^-j  .^  \\Q\i  we  reached  Urumano;wa.  This  district 
furnished  an  escort  of  about  a  hundred,  the  Mazambonis 
withdrawing  to  their  homes.  At  Unyabongo,  after  a 
two  hours'  march,  the  people  of  Uruniangwa  likewise 
withdrew,  yielding  their  honourable  duties  to  the  people 
of  the  new  district,  and  these  escorted  us  for  an  hour 
and  a  half,  and  saw  us  safely  housed  and  abundantly 
fed  at  Mukangi.  For  a  short  time  before  the  latter 
place  we  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  and  a  fight  was 
imminent,  but  the  couraa:e  and  o-ood  sense  of  its  chief 
enabled  both  parties  to  avoid  a  useless  rupture. 

A  good  example  has  its  imitators  as  well  as  bad 
examples.  The  chiefs  of  AYombola  and  Kamette  heard 
how  quickly  wo  had  embraced  the  friendly  offers  of 
Mukangi,  and  wlicii  we  marched  through  their  districts 
the  next  day  not  one  war-cry  was  heard  or  a  hostile  figure 
appeared.  Those  of  Kamette  called  out  to  us  to  keep  on 
our  way,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  just,  as  we  had  no  business 
ill  Kamette,  and  tlic  day  was  yet  young;  but  on  our 
arrival  at  the  next  village,  Ukuba,  we  were  tired,  and 
disposed  to  rest  after  a  live  hours'  march.      But  Ukuba, 


Ukul-a. 


THE  SILENCE  OF   THE  EOI{E,ST.  453 

of  Besse  district,  liad  already  experienced  our  weapons     I888. 
on  the  12tli  April  last,  and  we  were  permitted  to  camp    •'""'' ^• 
quietly.     At  sunset  we  were  gratified  at  seeing  several 
of  the  natives  walking  unarmed  to  camp,  and  in   the 
morning  they  came  again  with  presents  of  a  milch  goat, 
some  fowls,  and  enough  plantains  for  all. 

On  the  3rd  we  jjressed  on  rapidly,  and  captured  the 
canoes  to  ferry  our  party  across  the  Ituri,  which,  though 
there  had  been  but  little  rain  of  late,  we  found  to  be  as 
full  as  in  rainy  April. 

On  the  next  day  we  captured  a  woman  of  Maude 
after  crossing  the.  river,  and  released  her  to  tell  her 
people  that  we  were  harmless  enough  if  the  road  was 
undisturbed.  It  may  extend  the  area  over  which  peace 
l)etween  us  and  the  natives  is  established. 

On  the  5th  w^e  camped  at  Baburu,  and  on  the  next 
day  at  W.  Indenduru.  On  the  7th  a  seven  hours'  march 
brought  us  to  a  stream  called  Miwale'  Eiver,  from  the 
great  number  of  raphia  palms  ;  and  the  next  day  we 
entered  Fort  Bodo,  bringing  with  us  six  head  of  cattle, 
a  flock  of  sheep  and  goats,  a  few  loads  of  native 
tobacco,  four  gallons  of  the  Pasha's  whisky,  and  some 
other  little  luxuries,  to  joy  the  hearts  of  the  garrison. 

Such  an  utter  silence  prevails  in  the  forest  that  we 
were  mutually  ignorant  of  each  other's  fate  during 
our  sixty-seven  days'  separation.  Until  we  approached 
within  400  yards  of  Fort  Bodo  w^e  could  not  divine 
what  had  become  of  Lieutenant  Stairs,  who,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  despatched  on  the  16th  February 
to  Ufifarrowwa's  to  conduct  such  convalescents  as  could 
be  found  there  to  us  to  share  in  such  fortune  as  might 
happen  to  us  in  the  open  country,  whose  very  view 
had  proved  so  medicinable  to  our  men.  Nor  could  the 
garrison  guess  what  luck  had  happened  to  us.  But 
when  our  rifles  woke  up  the  sleeping  echoes  of  the 
forest  with  their  volleys,  the  sounds  had  scarcely  died 
away  before  the  rifles  of  the  garrison  responded, 
and  as  we  knew  that  Fort  Bodo  still  existed,  those 
immured  within  the  limits  of  the  clearing  became  aware 
that  we  had  returned  from  the  Nyanza. 


454  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Lieutenant  Stairs  was  first  to  show  himself  and  hail 
Junes,  ^g^  ^j^j  close  after  him  Captain  Nelson,  both  in  excellent 
■  condition,  but  of  rather  pasty  complexion.  Their  men 
then  came  trooping  up,  exuberant  joy  sparkling  in 
their  eyes  and  glowing  in  their  faces,  for  these  children 
of  Nature  know  not  the  art  of  concealing  their  moods  or 
disguising  their  emotions. 

But,  alas !  for  my  estimates.  Since  I  have  entered 
the  forest  region  they  have  always  been  on  the  erring 
side.  After  computing  carefully,  as  I  thought,  every 
mile  of  the  course  to  be  travelled  and  every  obstacle 
likely  to  be  met  by  him  and  his  lightly-laden  escort,  I 
was  certain  Lieutenant  Stairs  would  be  with  us  after  an 
absence  of  thirty-nine  days.  We  stayed  forty-seven  days, 
as  we  were  assured  it  Avould  please  him  to  be  present 
at  the  successful  termination  or  crowning  triumph  of 
our  efforts.  He  arrived  after  seventy-one  days'  absence, 
and  by  that  date  we  had  already  communicated  with 
Emin  Pasha. 

I  had  estimated  also  that  out  of  the  fifty-six  invalids 
left  in  the  care  of  Ugarrowwa,  and  boarded  at  our 
expense,  at  least  forty  convalescents  would  be  ready,  fit 
for  marching,  but  Mr.  Stairs  found  most  of  them  in 
worse  condition  than  when  they  parted  from  us.  All 
the  Somalis  were  dead  except  one,  and  the  survivor  but 
lived  to  reach  Ipoto.  Out  of  the  fifty-six  there  were 
but  thirty-four  remaining.  One  of  these  was  Juma,  with 
foot  amputated  ;  three  were  absent  foraging.  Out  of  the 
tliirty  sorry  band  of  living  skeletons  delivered  to  him 
fourteen  died  on  the  road,  one  was  left  at  Ipoto,  the 
remaining  fifteen  survived  to  exhibit  their  nude  bodies 
disfiguied  ])y  the  loathliest  colours  and  effects  of  chronic 
disease.  1'he  following  is  the  letter  describing  Mr. 
Stairs'  remarkable  journey,  which  amply  accounts  for 
his  detention  :  — 

"Fort  Boflo,  Tbwiri,  Central  Africa, 
c(  v^.j, "  Jime  Mil,  1888. 

"  T  li;iv((  flio  honour  to  report  tliat  in  jiccordanec  with  your  orders 
ofthft  ir,tli  Fchrnary,  1SK8,  I  left  tliis  jtlace  on  the  KHh  of  tliat  month 
with  an  (!,s(M)rt  of  twenty  eonri(!r.s  and  otlua*  dc^tails,  to  ])ro('(HMl  to 
Ugarrowwa'H station  on  tlio  Itnri,  forward  tlio  couriers  on  tiieir  journey  to 


REMARKABLE  JOURNEY  BY  MR.    STAIRS.  455 

Major  Barttelot's  column,  relieve  the  invalids  left  in  charge  of  Ugurrowvva,       jgyg 
and  bring  them  on  to  this  station.  j^j^^,  g 

"  Leaving  this  place,  tlien,  on  tlic  IGth,  we  reached  Kiliniani  Hill  village  p    .  »  ^ 
on  the  17th.     Next  day  I  decided  to  follow  a  large  native  track,  well  '^*^" 

worn,  about  two  miles  west  of  Kiliniani  on  our  tlirough  track  to  Ipoto  ; 
accordingly  we  started  off  this  up  tUl  11  a.m.  After  we  had  gone  tins 
length,  the  track  struck  too  much  to  the  north  and  east ;  I  therefore 
looked  for  other  tracks,  hoj^ing  by  following  one  to  at  last  get  on  to  a 
large  road,  and  thus  work  through  to  the  Ihuru.  Finding  one,  we 
followed  it  up  some  two  miles  or  so,  and  then  found  that  it  ended 
abruptly,  and  no  further  trace  could  be  found  of  it.  Returning  to  our 
former  road  w^e  moved  on,  and  that  day  made  four  more  endeavours  to 
get  north-west  or  somewhere  in  that  direction ;  late  at  night  we  camped, 
just  before  dark,  having  found  a  blazed  track.  On  the  next  day,  lUth,  we 
followed  this  track  north-west  at  a  fast  rate,  and  about  10  a.m.  came  on 
to  an  old  village.  The  blazes  here  ended ;  no  further  signs  of  a  track 
could  we  find  leading  out  of  the  village,  though  we  hunted  thoroughly 
in  every  direction.  Eeturning  again,  and  following  a  large  track  north- 
east, we  made  still  another  try,  but  here  again  the  track  ended. 

"  After  some  consideration  1  returned  to  our  camp  of  yesterday,  and 
decided  on  following  a  road  leading  towards  JNIabungu,  and  then  take  a 
side  road,  said  by  the  natives  to  lead  to  the  Ihuru,  but  on  following  tliis 
we  found  it  lead  merely  up  to  some  Wambutti  huts,  and  here  ran  out. 

"  After  taking  my  head  men's  opinion,  I  then  decided  on  returning 
and  following  our  old  road  to  Ipoto,  there  to  j^rocure  two  guides  and 
follow  on  the  track  to  Uledi's  village,  and  there  cross  the  Ihuru  and 
follow  down  on  north  side,  &c.  My  reasons  for  doing  these  were :  If  I 
should  go  on  like  this,  looking  for  tracks,  I  should  lose  probably  four  or 
five  days,  and  this  with  my  limited  time  woukl  not  be  admissible ;  and, 
secondly,  that  to  attemiDt  to  sj^lit  our  way  on  a  bearing  through  the  bush 
to  the  river  would  take  perhaps  five  days,  which  would  quite  counter- 
balance any  advantage  a  north  road  might  jiossess.  Eeaching  Kilonga 
Longa's  on  the  22nd,  we  arranged  for  a  party  to  take  us  by  a  road  south 
of  Ituri,  and  on  the  24th  left.  On  the  Jst  of  March  crossed  the  Lenda, 
courses  now  N.W.  and  N.N.W.  On  the  9th  reached  Farishi,  the  upper 
station  of  Ugarrow' wa.  On  the  l-ith  we  reached  Ugarrowwa's,  on  the  Ituri, 
early  in  the  morning.  For  many  days  we  had  been  having  rains,  and 
owing  to  these  I  suffered  very  much  from  fevers,  and  on  getting  to 
Ugarrowwa's  had  to  remain  in  bed  for  two  days. 

"At  U.'s  some  eight  or  ten  were  away  foraging,  and  to  get  these 
required  three  and  a  half  days. 

"  Fifty-six  (56)  men  were  left  with  Ugarrowwa,  viz.,  five  Somalis,  five 
Nubians,  and  forty-six  Zanzibaris,  on  the  18th  of  September,  1887.  Of 
this  total  twenty-six  had  died,  including  all  the  Somalis  except  Dualla. 
There  were  still  two  men  out  when  I  left.  Baraka  W.  Moussa  I  detailed 
as  a  courier  in  place  of  another  (who  had  been  left  at  Ipoto  with  bad 
ulcer),  and  Juma  B.  Zaid  remained  with  Ugarrowwa. 

"  The  majority  of  the  men  were  in  a  weak  state  when  I  arrived,  and  on 
leaving  I  refused  to  take  seven  of  these.  Ugarrowwa,  however,  point 
blank  refused  to  keep  them,  so  thus  I  was  obliged  to  bring  on  men  with 
the  certainty  of  their  dying  on  the  march. 

"  Early  on  the  I'lth,  Abdullah  and  his  couriers  were  despatched  dowu 
river.  On  the  17th  took  our  forty-four  rifles  from  Ugarrowwa,  and  out 
of  these  made  him  a  present  of  two  and  forty-two  rounds  Eemington 
ammunition. 

"On  the  18th  closed  with  U.  for  $870,  being  $30  for  twenty-nine  men; 
also  handed  him  his  bills  of  exchange  and  your  letter. 


456  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  "On  sauieiliiy  left  for  Ibwiri  with  following. 

June  8.  "  From  tlie  lOtli  to  'i3rd,  when  I  reached  Farishi,  tlie  raiu  was  constant, 
Fu-t  Bod  ™3,king  tlie  track  heavy  and  tlie  creeks  difficult  in  crossing.  From  here 
■  on  to  Ipoto  I  had  had  fevers  day  after  day,  and  having  no  one  to  carry 
me,  had  to  make  marches  of  five  to  seven  miles  per  day.  The  constant 
wettings  and  had  roads  had  made  all  the  men  very  low-s]iirited,  some 
doubting  even  that  there  was  help  ahead.  Reached  I])oto  April  11th, 
left  13th ;  and  after  more  trouble  from  fever  reached  here  on  26tli  April. 
All  glad  to  see  the  Fort.  Dualia,  the  Somali,  1  was  obliged  to  leave  at 
Ipoto.  Tarn,  a  former  donkey-boy,  deserted  on  the  road.  Of  the  draft 
of  invalids  (twenty-six)  ten  had  died.  Kibwana  also  died  from  chest 
disease  in  camp  near  Mambungu.  Out  of  fifty-six  invalids  brought 
fourteen  alive  to  the  Fort. 

"  On  reaching  Fort  Bodo  I  found  you  had  been  so  long  gone  that  I 
could  not  follow  up  with  safety  with  the  few  rifles  I  could  command,  and 
so  remained  at  this  station  and  reported  myself  to  Captain  Nelson,  who 
was  left  in  charge  of  the  Fort  by  you. 

"Hoods,  rains,  fevers,  and  other  illnesses  had  been  the  cause  of  our 
long  delay,  and  those  of  us  who  were  in  fit  condition  at  all,  felt  bitterly 
the  disappointment  at  not  being  able  to  reach  you. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c., 

"  W.  G.  Stairs,  Lieut.  R.E. 
"  To  M.  H.  Stanley,  Esq." 

Of  the  condition  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Bodo  there 
was  but  little  to  complain  ;  the  ulcerous  persons,  though 
nothing  improved,  were  not  worse  ;  the  anaemic  victims  of 
the  tortures  of  Manyuema  at  Ipoto  had  gained  possibly 
a  few  ounces  in  weight ;  the  chronically  indolent  and 
malingerers  still  existed  to  remind  us  by  their  aspects  of 
misery  that  they  were  not  suitable  for  the  long  and 
desperate  journey  yet  before  us.  AVe  expected  all  this. 
The  long  j(^urney  to  Yambuya  and  l)ack,  1,070  miles, 
could  never  be  performed  by  unwilling  men.  It  would 
be  volunteers,  fired  by  interest,  stimulated  by  the 
knowledge  that,  this  one  task  ended,  forest  miseries, 
famine,  damp,  rain,  mud,  gloom,  vegetable  diet, 
poisoned  arrows,  would  be  things  and  griefs  of  the 
past ;  and  tlicn  tlic  joys  of  the  grass  land,  divine  light, 
brightness  and  warmth  of  full  day,  careering  of  grass 
before  the  refreshing  gales,  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  heaven  is  above,  and  the  earth,  yet  full  of  glad 
life,  glowing  witli  ))enefi(;ence  and  blandness,  ever  before 
them.  Oil,  gr.icious  God  !  hasten  the  day.  But  can 
])lack  men,  tin;  "  ])rutes,"  "  niggers,"  "  black  devils,"  feel 
so  ?     We  siiall  see. 

One  crop  of  Indian  coin   had  been  harvested,  and  was 


THE  FAITHFUL   ZANZIBARIS.  457 

stored  snugly  in   granaries,  the  fields  were   l)cing  pre-     isss. 
pared  anew  for  replanting,  the  banana  plantations  still    "''^"^  ^' 
furnished  unlimited  supplies  of  food,  the  sweet  potat(jes  ^^^    °  ^ 
grew  wild  in  various  places,  and  there  was  a  fair  stock 
of  beans. 

The  malicious  dwarfs  (the  Wambutti)  had  paid  noc- 
turnal visits,  and  ravaged  somewhat  the  corn  fields,  and 
Lieut.  Stairs,  with  a  few  choice  spirits  of  the  garrisf)n, 
had  given  chase  to  the  marauders  and  had  routed  them, 
losing  one  man  in  the  action,  but  scaring  the  undersized 
thieves  effectually. 

The  Fort  now  contained  119  Zanzibaris  of  the  Advance, 
four  of  Emin  Pasha's  soldiers,  ninety-eight  Madi  carriers, 
and  three  whites  from  the  Albert  Nyanza,  besides  fifty- 
seven  Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese,  and  two  officers  who 
formed  the  garrison — total,  283  souls.  It  was  out  of 
this  number  we  were  to  form  a  column  of  Zanzibari 
volunteers  and  Madi  carriers  to  hasten  to  the  relief  of 
Major  Barttelot  and  the  Rear  Column. 

After  a  two  days'  rest  a  general  muster  was  made. 
The  necessities  of  our  condition  were  explained  aloud  to 
them ;  our  white  brothers  were  labouring  under  God 
alone  knew  what  difficulties — difficulties  that  appeared 
greater  to  them  than  they  did  to  us,  inasmuch  as  we 
had  gone  through  them  and  survived,  and  could  afford 
to  make  light  of  them.  For  knowledge  would  teach  us 
to  be  more  prudent  of  our  rations,  where  to  refresh  our 
jaded  bodies,  and  when  to  hasten  through  the  inter- 
vening wildernesses,  husbanding  our  resources.  Our 
meeting  would  rejoice  our  poor  friends,  distressed  by 
our  lonof  absence,  and  our  good  news  would  reanimate 
the  most  feeble  and  encourage  the  despairing.  They 
all  knew  what  treasures  of  cloth  and  beads  were  in 
charge  of  the  Rear  Column.  We  could  not  carry  all,  as 
indeed  there  was  no  need  for  so  much.  How  could  it 
better  be  bestowed  than  on  the  tireless  faithful  fellows 
who  had  taken  their  master  twice  to  the  Nyanza  and 
back  to  his  long-lost  friends  !  "I  pray  you,  then,  come 
to  my  side  ye  that  are  willing,  and  ye  that  prefer  to 
stay  in  the  Fort  remain  in  the  ranks." 


June  8. 
Fort  Bodo 


458  TN  DA  BREST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Exulting  in  their  lusty  strength,  perfect  health,  and 
in  their  acknowledged  worth,  107  men  cried  aloud,  "To 
the  Major  !  "  "  To  the  Major  !  "  and  sprang  to  my  side, 
leaving  only  six,  who  were  really  indisposed  by  illness 
and  growing  ulcers,  in  their  places. 

Those  who  understand  men  will  recognize  some 
human  merits  exhibited  on  this  occasion,  though  others 
may  be  as  l)lind  in  perceiving  the  finer  traits  in  human 
nature,  as  there  are  many  utterly  unable  to  perceive  in 
a  picture  the  touches  which  betray  the  masterful  hand 
of  a  great  painter,  or  in  a  poem  the  grace  and  smooth- 
ness, combined  with  vigour  and  truth,  of  the  true  poet. 

After  selecting  out  a  few  of  the  garrison  to  replace 
those  unable  to  undertake  the  long  march  Ijcfore  us, 
there  remained  only  to  distribute  twenty-five  days' 
rations  of  Indian  corn  to  each  member  of  the  Relief 
Force,  and  to  advise  that  in  addition  each  man  and  boy 
should  prepare  as  much  plantain  flour  as  he  could 
carry 

Until  the  evening  of  the  15th  of  June  all  hands  were 
engaged  in  reducing  the  hard  corn  with  pestle  and 
mortar  and  sieve  into  flour,  or  corn  rice,  called  "  grits," 
in  peeling  the  plantains,  slicing,  drying  them  on  wood 
grating  over  a  slow  fire,  and  pounding  them  into  fine 
flour.  I,  on  my  part,  besides  arranging  the  most  need- 
ful necessaries  required  for  general  uses,  had  many  per- 
sonal details  to  attend  to,  such  as  repairs  of  pantaloons, 
shoes,  chair,  umbrella,  rain-coat,  etc. 

My  intention  was  to  conduct  the  Relief  Force  in 
person,  unattended  by  any  officers,  for  many  reasons, 
l)ut  mainly  l)ecause  every  European  implied  increase  of 
baggage,  whicli  was  now  required  to  be  of  the  very 
smallest  limit  consistent  with  the  general  safety. 
Iksides,  Lieut.  Stairs,  in  my  opinicm,  deserved  rest  after 
liis  tri|)  to  Ipoto  to  ))ring  the  steel  boat  to  Fort  Bodo, 
and  his  joui'ucy  to  Ugarrowwa's  was  to  conduct  the 
convalescents.  Captain  Nelson,  ever  since  tlie  latter 
part  of  Septenil)cr,  1887,  had  been  subject  to  ever- 
varying  complaints — first  ulcers,  then  a  general  debility 
which  almost  threatened   his  life,  then   skin   eruptions, 


''HANDY"    THE  FOX-TERRIER.  459 

lumbago,  tender  feet,  and  fits  of  obstinate  ague.     To  a     issi. 
person  in  such  a  vitiated  condition  of  blood  a  journey  of  /""^  ^' 
the  kind  about  to  be  undertaken  would  doubtless  prove    °'* 
fatal.     Dr.   Parke,  the  only  other  officer  availing,  was 
needed  for  the  sick  at  the  Fort,  as  in  truth  the  entire 
garrison   consisted  mainly  of  people  requiring  medical 
attendance  and  treatment. 

With  great  difficulty  we  were  able  to  select  fourteen 
men  of  the  garrison  to  accompany  Captain  Nelson  as  far 
as  Ipoto,  to  convey  the  dozen  loads  of  baggage  still 
remaining  there  ;  but  as  we  were  about  to  start,  the 
Captain  was  prostrated  with  another  attack  of  inter- 
mittent fever,  and  a  strange  swelling  of  the  hand,  which 
made  it  necessary  for  Dr.  Parke  to  replace  him  for  this 
short  journey. 

The  faithful  little  fox-terrier  "  Randy,"  which  had 
borne  the  fatigues  of  the  double  march  to  the  Albert 
Nyanza  so  well,  and  had  been  such  a  good  friend  to  us 
in  an  hour  of  great  need,  and  had  become  the  pet  of 
every  one,  though  "  Randy  "  would  not  permit  a  Zan- 
zibari  to  approach  me  unannounced,  was  committed  to 
the  care  of  Lieutenant  Stairs,  in  the  hope  of  saving 
him  the  thousand-mile  journey  now  before  us.  But 
the  poor  dog  misjudged  my  purpose,  and  resolutely  re- 
fused his  food  from  the  moment  I  left  him,  and  on 
the  third  day  after  my  departure  he  died  of  a  broken 
heart. 

Upon  carefully  considering  the  state  of  the  Fort,  and 
the  condition  of  its  garrison,  and  the  capacity  of  its 
Commandant,  Lieut.  Stairs,  who  would  be  assisted  by 
Captain  Nelson  and  Dr.  Parke,  I  felt  the  utmost 
assurance  that,  with  sixty  rifles  and  abundant  stores  of 
ammunition,  they  were  invulnerable  from  any  attack  of 
forest  natives,  however  strono;  their  forces  miolit  be.  A 
wide  and  deep  ditch  ran  round  two-thirds  of  it.  At 
each  of  its  angles  a  commanding  platform,  closely  fenced, 
had  been  erected,  with  approaches  and  flanks  duly  under 
rifle  range,  and  each  angle  was  connected  by  a  continuous 
stockade,  well  banked  with  earth  without  and  supported 
within  by  a  firm  banquette.      The  main  roads  leading  to 


Fort  Bodo. 


460  IN  DARKEST  AFHICA. 

1888.  the  Fort  were  also  fenced,  to  serve  as  obstructions.  The 
June  8.  yiiiage  inhabited  by  the  garrison  hiy  on  the  side 
unprotected  by  the  ditch,  and  was  arranged  in  V  shape, 
to  mask  the  entrance  into  the  Fort.  During  daylight 
no  hostile  party  could  approach  within  150  yards  of 
the  Fort  unperceived.  At  night  ten  sentries  would  be 
sufficient  precaution  against  surprise  and  fire. 

This  protection  was  not  so  much  designed  against 
natives  alone  as  against  a  possible — and  by  no  means 
unlikely — combination  of  Manyuema  with  natives.  As 
much  might  be  uro;ed  for  the  likelihood  of  such  a 
coml)ination  as  against  it ;  but  it  is  a  totally  wrong  policy 
to  be  idle  before  an  uncertain  issue,  and  of  the  hundreds 
of  camps  or  stations  established  by  me  in  Africa,  not 
one  has  been  selected  without  considering  every  near  or 
remote  contingency. 

I  was  about  to  leave  Fort  Bodo  without  the  least 
anxiety  respecting  the  natives  and  Manyuema,  as  also 
without  fear  of  incompatibility  between  the  officers  and 
Zanzibaris.  The  officers  were  now  acquainted  with  the 
language  of  their  people,  as  well  as  with  their  various 
habits,  tempers,  and  moods,  and  the  men  could  equally 
distinguish  those  of  their  officers.  Both  parties  also 
believed  that  their  stay  at  Fort  Bodo  was  not  likely  to 
be  protracted,  as  the  Pasha  had  promised  to  visit  them 
within  two  months,  and  from  a  visit  of  one  of  his 
considerate  and  thoughtful  character  they  might  surely 
infer  they  would  derive  pleasure  as  well  as  profit.  On 
his  return  to  the  Nyanza  they  could  accompany  him, 
abandoning  the  Fort  to  its  fate. 

Of  the  fidelity  of  the  Zanzibaris  there  was  also  no 
room  f(jr  doul)t.  However  tyrannical  or  unjust  the 
officers  might  Ijc — an  extreme  conjecture — the  Zanzi- 
baris could  only  choose  between  them  on  the  one  hand, 
and  tlie  cannibalism  of  the  Wambutti  and  the  incarnate 
cruelty  of  the  Manyuema  on  the  other. 

Would  that  T  could  have  felt  the  same  confidence 
and  contentment  of  miiid  i-cgarding  the  Rear  Column. 
With  the  lay)S('  (»!'  montlis  li;id  been  tlu^  increase  of  my 
anxiety.     As  week  aWw  week  had  fiown  by,  my  faith 


ESTIMATES    OF  JOURNEYS. 


461 


in  its  safety  had  become  weakened  and  my  mind  isss. 
fatigued — with  the  continual  conflict  of  its  hopes  and  •^""•^^®- 
doubts,  with  the  creation  of  ingenious  and  fine  theories, 
and  their  no  less  subtle  demolition,  was,  perforce,  con- 
strained for  its  own  repose  and  health  to  forbear 
thought  and  take  refuge  in  the  firm  belief  that  the 
Major  was  still  at  Yambuya,  but  abandoned.  Our 
duty  was,  therefore,  to  proceed  to  Yambuya,  select  the 
most  necessary  material  equal  to  our  carrying  force,  and 
march  back  to  the  Nyanza  again  with  what  speed  wo 
might. 

On  this  supposition  I  framed  an  estimate  of  the  time 
to  be  occupied  by  the  journey,  and  handed  it,  with  a 
letter  of  instructions,  to  the  Commandant  of  the  Fort 
for  his  use  : — 


"  Whereas  the  distance  between  Fort  Bodo  to  the  Nyanza  is  125  miles, 
and  has  been  performed  in  288  lionrs'  marching,  or  74  days,  inclusive  of 
halts. 
"  Whereas  we  travelled  the  distance  from  Yambuya  to  Ilgarrowwa's 

in  289  hours  = .74  days. 

"  Whereas  Lieutenant  Stairs  marched  from  Ugarrowwa's 

to  Fort  Bodo  in 26     „ 

100     „ 

"  Therefore  our  journey  to  Yambuya  will  probably  oeciipy  100  days, 
and  tlie  same  i^eriod  back.  From  June  16th,  1888,  to  January  2nd, 
1889,  is  200  days.  We  may  reasonably  be  expected  on  January  2nd 
at  Fort  Bodo,  and  on  the  22nd  of  the  same  month  at  Lake  Albert. 

"  Or  thus :  Starting  June  16th,  1888  :— 


'  Fort  Bodo  to     . 

Ugarrowwa's 

.     July    5th 

Thence  to 

Avisibba    . 

.       „      25th 

„        ,,            .         . 

Mupe 

.     Aug.  14th 

„        ,, 

Yambuya  . 

.     Sept.   3rd 

Halt  10  days      . 

— 

„     13th 

Eeturn  to 

Mupe 

.     Oct.     3rd 

ii               }> 

Panga  Falls 

.       „      23rd 

Fort  Bodo 

.     Dec.  22nd 

Halt  5  days 

— 

„     27th 

Thence  to 

.     Albert  Nyanza 

.    Jan.  16th,  1889 

The  last  evening  of  my  stay  at  Fort  Bodo,  while  re- 
citing over  the  several  charges,  general  and  personal, 
entrusted  to  him,  Lieut.  Stairs  suggested  that  perhaps 
the   non-arrival   of  the   steamer  Stanley  at   Yambuya 


462  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  accounted  for  the  utter  silence  respecting  the  Rear 
■^""^^"    Column.     I  then  replied  in  the  following  terms  : — 

"  That  is  rather  a  cruel  suggestion,  my  dear  sir  ;  that 
is  the  least  I  fear,  for  as  well  as  I  was  able  I  provided 
against  that  accident.  You  must  know  that  when  the 
Stanley/  departed  from  the  Yambuya  on  the  28th  of  Jun3, 
I  delivered  several  letters  to  the  captain  of  the  steamer. 
One  was  to  my  good  friend  Lieut.  Liebrichts,  Governoi 
of  Stanley  Pool  district,  charging  him,  for  old  friend- 
ship's sake,  to  despatch  the  steamer  back  as  soon  as 
possible  with  our  goods  and  reserve  ammunition. 

"Another  was  to  Mr.  Swinburne,  my  former  secretary, 
who  was  the  soul  of  fidelity,  to  the  effect  that  in  case 
the  Stanley  met  with  such  an  accident  as  to  prevent 
her  return  to  Yambuya,  he  would  be  pleased  to  sub- 
stitute the  steamer  Florida  for  her,  as  the  owners  were 
business  men,  and  full  compensation  in  cash,  which  I 
guaranteed,  would  find  as  ready  an  acceptance  with 
them  as  profits  from  the  ivory  trade. 

"  A  third  letter  was  to  Mr.  Antoine  Greshoff,  the  agent 
at  Stanley  Pool  for  the  Dutch  house  at  Banana,  to  the 
effect  that,  failing  both  steamers  Stanley  and  Florida., 
he  would  find  a  large  ready  money  profit  if  he  would 
undertake  the  transport  of  the  stores  of  the  Expedi- 
tion from  Stanley  Pool,  and  128  men  from  Bolobo, 
to  Yambuya.  Whatever  reasonable  freight  and  fare 
he  would  charge,  immediate  payment  was  guaranteed 
by  me. 

"  A  fourth  letter  was  to  our  officer  in  charge  at 
Stanley  Pool,  Mr.  John  Rose  'J'roup,  to  the  effect  that, 
faibng  the  steamers  Stanley,  Florida,  and  Mr.  Greshoff 's, 
he  was  io  use  his  utmost  powers  and  means  to  collect 
])oats  and  canoes,  at  whatever  cost,  ready  at  hand,  and 
(communicate  with  ]\Iessrs.  Ward  and  Bonny  at  Bolobo. 
Mr.  Ward  at  Bolobo  was  also  enjoined  to  do  the  like 
in  Uyanzi,  and  man  these  vessels  with  tlie  Zanzibaris 
and  natives,  and  transport  by  stages  the  various  stores 
to  the  intrenclied  camp  at  Yambuya.  This  last  would 
scarcely  be  needed,  .'is  it  is  extremely  improl)a])le  that 
from  June    28th,    1887,    to    June    IGth,    1888 — nearly 


SPECULATING    ABOUT   THE   MA  JOB.  463 

twelve  months — neither  the  Stanley,  the    Florida,  nor     isss. 
Mr.    Greshoff's    steamer   would    be    available    for   our    •^""*'^- 

Fort  Bodo. 

service. 

"  Besides,  you  must  remember  that  both  captain 
and  engineer  of  the  Stanley  were  each  promised  a 
reward  of  £50  sterling  if  they  would  arrive  within 
reasonable  time.  Such  amounts  to  poor  men  are  not 
trifles,  and  I  feel  assured  that  if  they  have  not  been 
prevented  by  their  superiors  from  fulfilling  their 
promise,  all  goods  and  men  arrived  safely  at  Yambuya." 
"You  still  think,  then,  that  in  some  way  Major 
Barttelot  is  the  cause  of  this  delay  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  and  Tippu-Tib.  The  latter  of  course  has 
broken  his  contract.  There  is  no  doubt  of  that.  For 
if  he  had  joined  his  600  carriers,  or  half  that  number, 
with  our  Zanzibaris,  we  should  have  heard  of  them 
long  ago,  either  at  Ipoto,  when  you  returned  there  for 
the  boat,  or  later,  when  you  reached  Ugarrowwa's, 
March  16th  this  year.  The  letter  of  September  18th, 
1887,  when  only  eighty-one  days  absent  from  Yam- 
buya, and  wliich  the  Arab  j)romised  without  delay, 
would  certainly  have  produced  an  answer  by  this  if 
the  Major  had  departed  from  Yambuya.  Those  carriers, 
all  choice  men,  well  armed,  acquainted  with  the  road, 
despatched  with  you  to  Ugarrowwa's  on  February  16th, 
and  seen  by  you  safely  across  the  river  opposite  his 
station  on  the  16th  of  the  following  month,  would 
surely  by  this  have  returned  if  the  Rear  Column  was 
only  a  few  weeks'  march  from  Yambuya  ;  therefore  I  am 
positive  in  my  mind  that  Major  Barttelot  is  in  some 
way  or  other  the  cause  of  the  delay." 

"  Well,  I  am  sure,  however  you  may  think  the 
Major  is  disloyal,  I ." 

"  Disloyal !  Why,  whoever  put  you  in  mind  of  that 
word  ?  Such  a  word  has  no  connection  with  any  man 
on  this  Expedition,  I  hope.  Disloyal  !  Why  should 
any  one  be  disloyal  ?     And  disloyal  to  whom  ?  " 

"  Well,  not  disloyal,  but  negligent,  or  backward  in 
pressing  on  ;  I  feel  sure  he  has  done  his  best." 

"  No  doubt  he  has  done  his  level  best,  but  as  I  wrote 


464  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  to  liim  on  September  18th,  in  my  letter  to  be  given  to 
June  8.  Y\m].  by  Ugarrowwa's  carriers,  it  is  his  '  rashness  and  in- 
experience I  dread,'  not  his  disloyalty  or  negligence.  I 
fear  the  effect  of  indiscriminate  punishments  on  his 
people  has  been  such  that  the  vicinity  of  Stanley  Falls 
and  the  Arabs  has  proved  an  irresistible  temptation  to 
desert.  If  our  letters  miscarry  in  any  way,  our  long 
absence — twelve  months  nearly  to  this  day,  and  by  the 
time  we  reach  Yambuya  fourteen  months  at  least  ! — 
will  be  a  theme  for  all  kinds  of  reports.  When  the 
Zanzibaris  from  Bolol)o  reached  him  he  ou^ht  to  have 
had  over  200  carriers.  In  twelve  months — assumino; 
that  the  goods  and  men  arrived  in  due  date,  and  that, 
finding  Tippu-Tib  had  broken  faith,  he  began  the  move 
as  he  promised — he  would  be  at  Panga  Falls ;  but  if 
the  severe  work  has  demoralized  him,  and  he  has  de- 
moralized his  carriers,  well,  then,  he  is  stranded  far 
below  Panga  Falls — j^robably  at  Wasp  Kaj^ids,  probably 
at  Mupe  or  at  Banalya,  or  at  Gwengwere  Rapids — with 
but  100  despairing  carriers  and  his  Soudanese,  and  he  is 
perforce  compelled  by  the  magnitude  of  his  task  to  halt 
and  wait.  I  have  tried  every  possible  solution,  and  this 
is  the  one  on  which  my  opinion  becomes  fixed." 

"Do  you  allow  only  100  left?  Surely  that  is  very 
low." 

"  Why  ?  I  estimate  his  loss  at  what  we  have  lost 
— about  50  per  cent.  We  have  lost  slightly  less ;  for 
from  our  original  force  of  389  souls  there  are  203  still 
alive  : — 4  at  Nyanza,  GO  in  the  Fort,  119  going  with  me, 
and  20  couriers. 

"Yes;  but  the  Pear  Colunni  lias  not  endured  a 
famine  such  as  we  have  had." 

"  Nor  liave  they  enjoyed  the  abundance  that  we 
have  fed  upon  jbi-  the  last  seven  months,  therefore  we 
ai'c  perha])s  e(piah  lint  it  is  useless  to  speculate  further 
u])oii  tliese  points. 

"  'I'he  success  whidi  was  expected  from  my  plans  has 
eludtid  nie.  TIk;  I'asha  never  visited  the  south  end  of 
the  Lake,  as  I  suggested  to  him  in  my  letter  from 
Zanzibar.     This  has  cost  us  four  months,  and  of  Barttelot 


INSTRUGTIONS    TO   LIEUT.    STAIRS.  405 

there  is  not  a  word.  Our  men  liave  fallen  by  scores,  1888. 
and  wherever  I  turn  there  is  no  comfort  to  be  derived  •'""2^^- 
from  the  prospect.  Evil  hangs  over  this  forest  as  a 
pull  over  the  dead  ;  it  is  like  a  region  accursed  for 
crimes ;  whoever  enters  within  its  circle  becomes  subject 
to  Divine  wrath.  All  we  can  say  to  extenuate  any 
error  that  we  have  fallen  into  is,  that  our  motives  are 
pure,  and  that  our  purposes  are  neither  mercenary  nor 
selfish.  Our  atonement  shall  be  a  sweet  offering,  the 
performance  of  our  duties.  Let  us  bear  all  that  may 
l3e  put  upon  us  like  men  bound  to  the  sacrifice,  without 
one  thought  of  the  results.  Each  day  has  its  weight  of 
troubles.  Why  should  we  think  of  the  distresses  of 
to-morrow  ?  Let  me  depart  from  you  with  the  convic- 
tion that  in  my  absence  you  will  not  swerve  from  your 
duty  here,  and  I  need  not  be  anxious  for  you.  If  the 
Pasha  and  Jephson  arrive  with  carriers,  it  is  better  for 
you,  for  them,  and  iov  me  that  you  go  ;  if  they  do  not 
come,  stay  here  until  my  return.  Give  me  a  reasonable 
time,  over  and  above  the  date— the  22nd  of  December; 
then  if  I  return  not,  consult  with  your  friends,  and 
afterwards  with  your  men,  and  do  what  is  best  and 
wisest.  As  for  us,  w^e  shall  march  back  to  the  place 
where  Barttelot  may  be  found,  even  as  far  as  Yambuya, 
but  to  no  place  beyond,  though  he  may  have  taken 
everything  away  with  him  down  the  Congo.  If  he  has 
left  Yambuya  and  wandered  far  away  south-east  instead 
of  east,  I  will  follow  him  up  and  overtake  him,  and 
will  cut  through  the  forest  in  the  most  direct  way  to 
Fort  Bodo.  You  must  imagine  all  this  to  have  taken 
place  if  I  do  not  arrive  in  December,  and  consider  that 
many  other  things  may  have  occurred  to  detain  us 
before  you  yield  to  the  belief  that  we  have  parted  for 
ever." 

The  following   is   the  letter  of  instructions  to  Lieut. 
Stairs  : — 

"  Fort  Bodo,  Central  Africa, 
(c  q     "  June  \Zfh,  1888. 

"  During  my  absence  with  the  advance  party  of  the  Expedition, 
now  about  to  return  to  the  assistance   of  Major   Barttelot  and  Eear 

VOL.    I.  E  E 


4fi6  JN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Column,  I  aiJiJoint  you  Commandant  of  Fort  Bodo.  I  leave  with  you  a 
June  13.  garrison,  inclusive  of  sick,  numbering  nearly  sixty  rifles.  The  men 
Fort  Bodo  I'^'^^^^y  *^'c  i^ot  of  the  calibre  re(iuisite  for  a  garrison  in  a  dangerous 
country.  Still  they  can  all  shoot  otf  their  rifles,  are  in  good  condition, 
and  you  have  abundance  of  ammunition.  My  principal  reliance  is  on 
the  Commandant  himself.  If  the  chief  is  active  and  wary,  our  fort  is 
safe,  and  no  combination  of  natives  can  oust  the  garri.son  from  its  shelter. 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  leave  you  with  confidence. 

"  Eespecting  the  improvements  to  be  made  in  the  Fort,  which  I  have 
verbally  explained  to  you,  I  would  suggest  tha,t  as  tlie  Fort  when 
completed  will  be  more  extensive  than  at  present,  you  elect  about 
twenty  or  thirty  of  the  more  decent  and  cleanly  of  the  men  to  occupy  the 
buildings  in  the  Fort,  until  such  time  as  they  are  wanted  for  other 
persons,  because — 

"  1st.  You  are  in  no  danger,  then,  of  being  cut  off  by  a  daring  foe  from 
your  garrison. 

"2ud.  One-third  of  your  men  will  be  then  within  the  gates  ready  at 
your  most  sudden  call. 

"8rd.  The  buildings  within  the  Fort  will  be  kept  dry  and  in  a  habit- 
able condition  by  being  occupied. 

"  Corn.  Begin  ijlanting  corn  about  July  15th.  1st  July  you  should 
begin  hoeing  up,  clearing  the  ground. 

"  Bananas.  I  am  exceedingly  anxious  about  ihe  bananas.  Twice  a 
week  there  should  be  sent  a  strong  jmtrol  round  the  plantations  to  scare 
the  natives,  and  also  elephants.  For  the  latter  half-a-dozen  fires  at  as 
many  points  might  suffice. 

"An  officer  should  be  sent  out  with  the  i^atrol,  to  have  a  reliable 
report  of  Avhat  transpires;  should  he  rejwrt  the  bananas  as  getting 
scanty,  then  you  should  begin  rationing  your  people,  always  obtaining 
your  supjilies  by  detachments  from  the  most  distant  jioints  of  the 
plantations.  Let  the  bananas  nearest  the  Fort  reach  maturity,  just  as 
you  would  your  corn.  Along  the  main  roads  it  would  also  be  well  to 
leave  plantations  alone  until  they  mature. 

"  I  leave  Captain  Nelson  as  second  in  command,  to  take  charge  when 
you  are  incapacitated  by  illness  or  accident. 

"  Dr.  T.  II.  Parke,  A.M.D.,  remains  here  as  surgeon  to  take  charge  of 
the  sick. 

"  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  say  when  we  shall  return,  as  we  have 
not  the  least  idea  whereabouts  the  Rear  Column  is,  but  we  shall  do  our 
best.  If  the  Major  is  still  at  Yambuya,  you  may  expect  us  in  December 
sometime. 

"I  expect  Emin  Pasha  and  Mr.  Je])hson  in  hero  about  two  months 
hence  — say  about  the  middle  of  August. 

"Should  Mr.  Je])hson  appear  with  a  sufficient  force  of  carriers,  then  I 
should  recommend  the  evacuation  of  the  Fort  and  take  the  garrison,  and 
accompany  Mr.  Je])hson  to  the  Nyanzi,  and  put  yourself  and  force  at  the 
disposition  of  Eniiu  Pasha  until  my  return.  As  I  come  eastward  I 
jiropose  following  a  northerly  and  easterly  track  from  the  Nepoko  and 
make  for  tlie  Ituri  ferry. 

"  In  order  that  on  reaching  the  Ituri  ferry  I  may  know  whether  you 
liave  evacuated  tlus  Fort  or  not,  ])lease  remember  that  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  near  the  ferry,  tliei'e  are  a  luimber  of  very  tall  trees,  on 
which  you  could  carve  a  number  of  broad  arrows,  Avhich  would  indicate 
that  you  had  passed.  You  conld  also  carve  date  of  crossing  the  Itnri  on 
a  cons})icu()UH  jihice  near  the  fcirry.  This  would  save  me  a  great  deal  of 
time  and  anxiety  resj)0(;ting  yon. 

"As  our  twenty  couriers  hft  licre    Jiiih    ]'\:briiary,    it   will    be   four 


INSTRUCTIONS    TO   LIEUT.    STAIRS.  467 

months,  June  IGtli,  since  they  Mi.     If  Jephson   appears  in  ahont  two      js^g, 
months,  say,  the  time  will  then  he  ahont  six  months  since  the  couriers    June  13. 
left  Fort  Bodo — quite  sufficient  time  to  dispel  all  douht  ahout  them.  ^^^^  p^^j^^ 

"I  wish  you  and  your  associates  good  health  and  safe  arrival  at  the 
Nyanza.  On  our  part  we  will  do  our  work  with  what  celerity  circum- 
stances will  permit. 

"  Yours  faithfully, 
"(Signed)       Henry  M.  Stanley, 

"  Commanding  E.  P.  R.  Expedition. 
"  To  Lieut.  W.  G  Stairs, 

"  Commandant  Fort  Bodo." 


468  j^  DARKEST  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

ARRIVAL  AT  BANALYA  :  BARTTELOT  DEAD. 

The  Eelief  Force  —  The  difficulties  of  marching — "We  reach  Ipoto  — 
Kilongo  Longa  apologises  for  the  behaviour  of  his  Manyuema — The 
chief  returns  us  some  of  our  rifles — Dr.  Parke  and  fourteen  men 
return  to  Fort  Bodo — Ferrying  across  the  Ituri  river—  Indications  of 
some  of  our  old  camps — We  unearth  our  buried  stores — The 
Manyuema  escort — Bridging  the  Lenda  river — The  famished  Madi— 
Accidents  and  deaths  among  the  Zanzibaris  and  Madi— My  little 
fox-terrier  "  Eandy  " — The  vast  clearing  of  Ujangwa — Native  women 
guides — We  reach  Ugarrowwa's  abandoned  station — Welcome  food 
at  Amiri  Falls — Navabi  Falls — Halt  at  Avamburi  landing-place — 
Death  of  a  Madi  chief — Our  buried  stores  near  Basopo  unearthed 
and  stolen — Juma  and  Nassib  wander  away  from  the  column — -The 
evils  of  forest  marching — Conversation  between  my  tent-boy,  Sali, 
and  a  Zanzibar! — Numerous  bats  at  Mabengu  village — -We  reach 
Avisibba,  and  find  a  young  Zanzibari  girl — Nejambi  Eapids  and 
Panga  Falls — The  natives  of  Panga — At  Mugwye's  we  disturb  an 
intended  feast — We  overtake  Ugarrowwa  at  Wasp  Rapids  and  find 
our  couriers  and  some  deserters  in  his  camp — The  head  courier 
relates  his  tragic  story — Amusing  letter  from  Dr.  Parke  to  Major 
Barttelot — Progress  of  our  canoe  flotilla  down  the  river — The 
Batunda  natives— Our  progress  since  leaving  the  Nyanza — Thoughts 
about  the  Rear  Co himn— Desolation  along  the  banks  of  the  river — 
We  reach  Banalya— Meeting  with  Bonny — The  Major  is  dead — 
Baualya  Camp. 

1888.  ^^^  ^^^^  l^tJi  of  June,  in  the  early  morning  we  set  out 
June  16.  from  Fort  l^odo  towards  Yambuya  in  excellent  spirits, 
Kort  Bodo.  ]„u(j}y  cheered  by  the  garrison  and  with  the  best  wishes 
of  the  officei-s.  We  iuim])ered  1 1 .1  Zanzil)nris,  ninety-five 
Madi  earricis,  four  of  Emin  Paslia's  soldiers,  two  whites 
besides  Dr.  Parke  and  liis  little  l)and  of  fourteen  men, 
whose  company  we  were  to  have  as  far  as  Ipoto. 
Indekaru  was  I'cached  on  the  eveninoj  of  the  I7th,  amid 
a  heavy  storm  of  rain.  The  next  day  was  a  halt  to 
collect  nioi'(^  plantains.  On  the  19th  we  (tamped  at 
Ndugu-bislia,  the  day  following  at  Nzalli's.  We  had  by 
this  time  been  introduced  to  the  ditHculties    of  forest 


7^  SEARCH   OF   THE  REAR-COLUMN.  469 

marching.     The  cries  of  the  column  leaders  recalled  most     1888. 


'& 


painfully  what  an  absence  of  seven  months  had  caused 
us  almost  to  forget. 

"  Red  ants  afoot !  Look  out  for  a  stump,  ho  !  Skewers  ! 
A  pitfall  to  right !  a  burrow  to  left !  Thorns,  thorns, 
'ware  thorns !  Those  ants ;  lo  !  a  tripping  creeper, 
Nettles,  'ware  nettles !  A  hole !  Slippery  beneath, 
beneath  1  look  out  for  mud  !  A  root  !  Red  ants  !  red 
ants  amarch  !  Look  sharp  for  ants  !  A  log  !  Skewers 
below  ! "     And  so  on  from  camp  to  camp. 

Most  of  the  villages  along  this  route  still  stood,  but  all 
awry  and  decaying ;  reeling  from  rotten  uprights,  the 
eave  corners  on  the  ground,  green  mould  covering  the 
floors  within,  hollows  filled  with  slime,  and  fungi 
flourishing;  alono;  the  sides,  and  nitrous  excrescences 
abounding ;  roofs  covered  with  creepers,  nettles,  and 
prolific  gourd  vines — veritable  nests  of  ague,  into  which, 
however,  necessity  compelled  us  and  our  men  to  seek 
shelter  by  reason  of  excessive  flitigue,  or  imminence  of  a 
rainstorm. 

Mambungu's  was  reached  on  the  21st,  and  on  the 
edge  of  the  Busindi  clearing  we  camped  on  the  following 
day.  After  forty-seven  hours  marching  from  Fort  Bodo 
we  entered  the  Arab  settlement  of  Ipoto,  where  it  will 
be  remembered  our  people,  maddened  by  distress  of 
hunger,  caused  me  such  serious  losses  of  arms  and 
ammunition.  But  the  change  in  their  condition  was  so 
great,  and  their  eyes  flashed  such  lively  glances  of  scorn 
at  their  tormentors,  that  in  the  afternoon  Kilonga-Longa, 
with  his  head-men,  dreading  reprisal,  began  with  many 
apologies  for  the  behaviour  of  his  Manyuema  during  his 
absence  to  extenuate  the  heinousness  of  their  crimes,  and 
to  ofler  to  atone  for  them  as  well  as  he  was  able. 
Nineteen  Remingtons  were  laid  before  me,  out  of  thirty 
I  knew  to  be  in  their  possession.  Six  of  these  had  been 
left  as  pledges  of  payment  by  myself,  two  were  given  by 
Mr.  Stairs  acting  in  my  name,  one  was  sold  by  Captain 
Nelson,  and  ten  were  sold  by  Zanzibaris,  besides  eleven 
not  yet  recovered ;  but  out  of  3000  cartridges  and  two 
entire  cases  these  receivers  of  stolen  goods  purchased 


June  20. 
Nzalli's. 


470  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  from  the  starving  Zanzibaris,  only  fifty  were  returned. 
June  21.  Whatever  fears  the  Manyuema  may  have  felt,  the  fit  time 
ipoto.  £^^,  reprisal  and  retaliation  had  not  arrived,  though  fifty 
rifies  could  have  captured  the  settlement  easily,  the 
majority  of  Kilonga-Longa's  people  being  absent  raiding 
eastward.  We  had  far  more  important  business  afoot 
than  the  destruction  of  Ipoto,  nor  must  it  be  forgotten 
that  our  little  garrison  at  Fort  Bodo  was  not  so  secure 
but  that  a  few  hundreds  of  men  made  desperate  by  their 
losses  might  not  avenge  themselves  fully  by  a  siege  or 
midnight  assault. 

We  therefore,  bending  under  the  necessities  of  the 
occasion,  accepted  the  rifies  and  gifts  of  goat  and  rice, 
and  the  Zanzibaris  were  permitted  to  sell  such  ivory  as 
they  had  packed  up  for  100  pecks  of  rice,  which  to  them 
was  most  welcome  provender. 

The  next  day  the  chief  returned  tw^o  more  rifles,  but 
all  my  men  being  sufliciently  armed,  he  w\as  requested 
to  retain  them  as  pledges,  in  addition  to  the  six 
remaining  in  his  hands,  for  payment  of  ninety  doti  of 
cloth  promised  to  him  and  his  people  for  the  grudging 
and  scant  sustenance  given  to  Captain  Nelson  and  Dr. 
Parke  while  they  were  compulsory  guests  of  this  ill- 
natured  community. 

In  the  afternoon  Dr.  Parke  and  his  little  band  of 
fourteen  men  commenced  their  return  journey  to  Fort 
Bodo,  conveying  thirteen  loads,  and  bearing  the  very 
last  instructions  I  could  give. 

On  the  25  th  June  we  set  out  from  Ipoto  accompanied 
by  a  guide  and  our  escort  of  fifteen  Manyuema,  who  were 
ostentati(jusly  detailed  for  this  duty  as  far  as  the  next 
Arab  settlement,  one  of  Ugarrowwa's  outlying  stations. 
We  arrived  at  the  Ituri  River,  and  a  canoe  capable  of 
carrying  nine  men  was  delivered  over  to  us  at  3  p.m.  to 
serve  as  the  means  of  ferriage.  As  one  trip  to  the  left 
bardv  and  back  o(;(;uj)ied  on  an  average  twenty- three 
minutes,    night    fell    ])eforc    a    half   of    our   force  was 

UCl'OSS. 

Th(3  woi'k  of  fci'i-ying  was  resumed  early  next  morning, 
and  continued  until    two   o'ch)ck,  wlien  every  soul  had 


277^    WIDU    UNINHABITED    WILDERNESS.  471 

crossed  excepting  the  Manyuema  escort  whose  fears  that     1888. 
sudden  vengeance  would  ))e  inflicted  on   them,  caused   J""*^ -•''• 
them  to  decline  the  venture  they  had  been  ordered  to 
undertake. 

We  were  now  fairly  in  the  wide  uninhabited  wilder- 
ness through  which  last  Octol)er  the  Expedition 
struQ-sled,  ffiiunt  victims  of  a  merciless  famine.  No 
consideration  would  have  tempted  us  to  a  revisit  of 
these  dreadful  shades,  but  that  we  fostered  a  lively 
hope  that  we  should  soon  meet  our  returning  couriers, 
who  we  expected  would  gratify  us  w4th  news  from  the 
Major's  column.  Imbued  with  the  fond  belief  that  as 
they  had  not  arrived  at  Ipoto  w^e  should  meet  them 
on  this  road — none  other  beinof  known  to  them — we 
marched  briskly  from  the  landing-place,  and  in  two  and 
three-quarter  hours  reached  the  camp  whence  we  had 
crossed  over  to  the  north  l)ank  on  the  14th  of  October 
last.  Indications  of  our  stay  here  were  yet  fresh — the 
charcoal  broad  arrows  drawn  on  the  barked  tree  stems, 
the  lead  pencil  writing  to  Khamis  Parry  still  plainly 
legible. 

At  1.15  P.M.  of  the  28tli  we  arrived  at  Nelson's  camp, 
opposite  the  confluence  of  the  Ihuru  with  the  Ituri,  a 
place  which  last  October  witnessed  such  death  and 
agony,  where  poor  Nelson  sat  so  many  hours,  so  many 
wretched  days  with  ulcered  feet,  waiting  anxiously  the 
arrival  of  news  from  us,  and  where  he  was  found  by  his 
friend  Mounteney  Jephson,  haggard,  and  reduced  by  his 
feelings  of  forlornness  and  despair  into  a  state  of  abject 
helplessness,  in  the  midst  of  his  dying  and  dead 
companions.  AVe  had  performed  the  march  in  twenty 
hours,  or  in  four  days  inclusive  of  our  detention  while 
ferrying  with  one  small  craft.  Last  October,  despite 
our  strenuous  endeavours,  the  same  distance  had  occu- 
pied us  thirty-nine  hours'  marching,  or  thirteen  days 
inclusive  of  the  halt !  The  condition  of  the  stomach 
made  all  this  great  difference. 

We  found  our  caclie  untouched,  though  we  had  strong 
doubts,  and  unearthed  our  buried  stores  which  Jephson's 
relief  party  was  unable  to  carry  away.  The  ammunition, 


472  W  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     made  l)y  Kynoch  of  Birmingham,  after  eight  months* 
June  28.   j^m-jg^j  j^  ^|jg  gaud,  .su1)iect  to  tropic  damp  and  an  eternal 

Starvatinn        •  ,  'i*'i  j.irii 

Camp,  nun,  was  not  so  much  injured  as  we  expected,  a  lull 
eighty  per  cent,  of  it  being  still  sound,  and  the  well- 
waxed  hrass  cases  and  copper  caps  yet  exhibited  their 
native  brightness  and  gloss.  Distributing  1,000 
rounds  to  the  men  for  the  refilling  of  their  pouches^ 
selecting  such  other  articles  as  were  useful,  we  made  up 
eight  loads,  and  after  burying  the  rest  as  superfluous, 
we  hurried  away  from  the  hateful  spot,  camping  far 
inland. 

Arriving  at  camp,  we  discovered  four  Madi  carriers 
to  have  deserted  with  the  kits  of  their  Zanzibari  mates. 
Had  they  known,  wdiat  we  could  never  forget,  of  the 
evil  repute  of  this  wilderness,  they  probably  would  have 
chosen  the  brawling  river  for  their  graves  than  the  slow 
torture  of  famine  in  the  ruthless  forest. 

At  sunset  we  were  surprised  to  see  the  Manyuema 
escort  reach  our  camp.  They  had  fled  to  Kilonga 
Longa's,  and  that  gentleman  had  sternly  ordered  them 
to  follow  us  again,  and  not  to  return  without  a  note 
reporting  they  had  performed  the  duty  on  which  they 
had  been  sent. 

On  the  29th  we  left  the  river  route  and  steered  a 
south-westerly  course  through  the  pathless  forest,  in 
order  to  strike  the  road  taken  by  Mr.  Stairs'  party  on 
their  return  from  Ugarrowwa's.  As  the  head-man  Rasliid 
bin  Omar  was  of  our  party,  we  presumed — as  he  asserted 
his  faith  in  himself — that  he  would  recognize  the  path 
if  it  were  sliown  to  him,  after  which  of  course  there 
would  be  no  difficulty.  The  whole  of  the  29th  and  30th 
were  occu})ied  in  this  south-westerly  course  undeviating. 
We  meaiiwliile  crossed  several  native  paths,  but  as 
Kasliid  failcil  jo  i-ccognize  any  of  them,  we  continued  on 
our  way.  ()ii  tlic  1st  July,  early  in  the  morning's 
marcli,  we  ciitcrcMl  tlie  basin  of  the  Lenda  River,  and 
then,  as  llasliid  expressed  himself  of  the  opinion  that 
we  must  liave  passed  the  path,  we  took  a  direct  westerly 
course,  steei'ing  straight  on  through  the  forest  by 
coiupuss.     At  noon  of  the   2ud  wc  struck  the    Leuda 


BBIDQINO    TITE  LEND  A   RIVER.  473 

River  which  generally  floweJ,  as   we  observed  during     isss. 
the  afternoon  march  of  the  2n(l  and  until  noon  of  the    ■^"'^'  ^• 
3rd,  N.N.W.      Discovering  a  narrow  chasm  thirty  yards     Jj-Jer' 
wide  through   which   the   Lenda    I'ushed    furiously,    we 
conceived    it  would    be    to    our  advantage  to  throw  a 

o 

bridge  across  this  river,  and  trust  to  fortune  showing  us 
the  path  to  Ugarrowwa's  station  on  the  other  l)ank, 
rather  than  continue  along  the  Lenda  River  on  the  right 
bank,  lest  we  might  be  forced  to  wander  for  days 
without  finding  the  means  of  crossing.  Accordingly  we 
selected  three  of  the  tallest  trees,  115,  110,  and  108 
feet  respectively,  which  we  managed  to  launch  across  the 
chasm,  and  these  resting  on  stout  forked  uprights,  with 
railings  to  steady  the  laden  men,  made  a  commodious 
and  safe  bridge.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  the 
bridge  was  completed,  and  by  ten  o'clock  every  man  was 
safe  across. 

The  Madi  carriers  having  purposely  scattered  their 
corn  provision  along  the  road  to  lighten  their  loads, 
began  now  to  pay  the  penalty  of  their  wastefulness. 
Though  the  camp-crier  cried  out  daily  the  number  of 
days  yet  remaining  for  which  the  provisions  must  last, 
the  ignorant  savages  were,  however,  too  dense-headed 
to  profit  by  the  warning ;  consequently  we  had  a 
dozen  feeble  wretches  already  faltering  in  their  gait. 
We  were  already  short  of  seven — four  of  whom  had 
deserted. 

AVe  continued  on  the  left  bank  our  westerly  course,  and 
meantime  crossed  several  native  paths  inclining  S.E.  and 
N.W.,  but  w^e  found  none  that  can  be  made  available 
for  our  necessity. 

On  the  Gth  we  stumbled  across  a  clearing  garnished 
with  a  small  but  thriving  plantation  of  plantains.  The 
famished  Madis  rushed  on  this  supply  like  hungry  wolves 
on  their  prey,  and  soon  devoured  the  whole,  but  three 
of  them  trod  on  cunningly-hidden  sharp-pointed  skewers 
set  in  the  ground. 

Through  a  pelting  rain  we  travelled  on  the  7th,  and, 
wet  and  miserable,  camped  in  the  bosom  of  untraversed 
woods.      One  hour's  march  next  day  brought  us  to  the 


liandeva. 


•174  IN   DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     small  village  of  Balia,  and  five  hours  later  halted  for  the 

./!'L!1    ^ig^^*  ^*  Bandeya. 

This  day  had  been  replete  with  miseries  and  singular 
accidents.  A  shower  of  cold  rain  fell  on  us  after  leaving 
Balia,  and  three  of  the  naked  Madis  fell  dead  within  a 
few  paces  of  each  other.  At  the  first  indications  of  this 
shower  I  had  ordered  a  halt,  and  spread  out  aljout  150 
square  feet  of  tenting,  inviting  everyone  to  Imddle 
under  it.  The  shower  over,  we  rolled  up  the  canvas 
and  resumed  the  march,  but  we  were  still  sul)ject  to  the 
heavy  cold  dripping  of  the  foliage.  The  Zanzibaris,  more 
accustomed  to  it  and  in  better  condition  of  body,  were 
not  much  inconvenienced  ;  but  three  Madis,  depressed  in 
mind,  depleted  in  body,  fell  dead  as  suddenly  as  though 
shot.  A  Lado  soldier  of  Emin  Pasha's  and  a  Zanzibari 
were  skewered  in  the  feet,  and  so  crippled  l)y  these 
painful  wounds  that  we  w^ere  obliged  to  carry  them. 
Near  Bandeya  another  Madi  native  succumbed  to 
illness  caused  by  insufficient  food,  and  a  Zanzibari  was 
shot  by  a  bold  and  crafty  dwarf  with  an  arrow  which 
penetrated  between  the  ribs,  but  not  to  a  fatal  depth. 
Arriving  at  the  village,  my  cook  Hassan,  in  an  unfortunate 
moment,  while  drawing  his  Winchester  rifle  towards  him, 
caused  it  to  explode,  tearing  a  large  portion  of  the 
muscles  of  the  left  arm  ;  and  near  midnight  a  youth 
named  Amari,  wdiile  blowing  up  to  a  brighter  flame  a 
watcli-fire,  was  suddenly  Avounded  in  the  head  by  a  bullet 
from  a  Remington  cartridge  that  some  one  had  carelessly 
dropped  near  the  embers. 

The  next  day,  guided  by  sf)mc  women  who  said  they 
knew  the  way  to  llgarrowwa's,  there  was  a  most  tedious 
marcli  tliiough  an  immense  clearing  lately  abandoned  by 
the  natives.  None  that  I  can  remember  was  so  full  of 
vexations.  It  w^as  a  strained  position  at  every  stride  we 
took — now  treading  on  a  slippery  trunk  which  bridged  a 
cliasm  l)ristling  with  dangers  from  a  number  of  dead 
Itranchcs,  their  sli;ii-i)  j)()ints  erected  upwards  threatening 
iiiipalemcnt  to  the  iiii fortunate  man  who  fell  from  such 
a  height  on  them  ;  then  l)alancing  oneself  on  a  log  tlii'owu 
acr(jss  a  rushing    stream ;  anon   plunged   into  a   brake 


SWINGING  ROUNU  A    CIRCLE.  475 

suffocatingly  close  from  tlie  dense  masses  of  myriads  of     isss. 
creepers  growing    above  and    around  ;  soon    stumbling     ."  ^  ^' 
through    a    deep    green    slough,   its    depth    hidden    by     -"^"^^^^ 
floating  vegetable  parasites,  then  over  a  fearful  array  of 
logs,  the  relics  of  the  old  forest,  and    every   step    the 
dithculties  repeated  until   near   noon  we  had  traversed 
with  streaming  bodies   the  vast   clearing  of  Ujangwa. 
On  the  confines  of  the  virgin  forest  we  formed  camp, 
despatched  the  people  to  gather  plantains  and  to  prepare 
them  as  provisions  for  the  few  days  yet  remaining  of  the 
wilderness. 

By  solar  observations  I  discovered  we  were  in  N. 
lat.  1°  0'  16". 

On  the  10th  I  suspected  we  were  taking  a  course 
which,  if  continued,  would  lead  us  not  far  from  our  camp 
of  the  8  th,  but  the  Zanzibaris  were  so  wedded  to  the 
belief  that  the  natives  knew  their  own  country  best,  that 
in  a  fit  of  spleen  I  permitted  them  to  rest  in  that 
opinion.  Jibout  ten  o'clock  of  the  11th  we  came  upon 
the  clearing  and  a  little  village  we  had  left  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th.  Thus  we  had  made  a  complete 
circle,  and  in  revenge  for  this  the  people  demanded  that 
the  women  should  be  slaughtered.  Poor  things,  they 
had  only  acted  according  to  their  nature  !  It  is  we  who 
were  in  error  in  supposing  that  the  natives  would  show 
us  a  way  leading  them  further  and  further  from  their 
own  country.  Were  the  faith  continued  in  them  they 
would  have  persisted  in  guiding  us  round  about  their 
clearings  until  they  had  dropped  dead  on  their  native 
earth.  The  women  were  therefore  sent  away  home, 
and  with  compass  in  hand  we  steered  a  west  by  north 
course  to  strike  the  main  road.  We  continued  this  course 
the  whole  of  the  11th,  and  early  next  day  succeeded  in 
finding  the  path,  wdiich  ran  north  by  east. 

At  nine  o'clock  of  the  13th  July  we  reached  our  old 
camp  on  the  Ituri  River,  opposite  Ugarrowwa's  station, 
but  the  place,  as  w^e  looked  across  the  river,  we  found  to 
be  abandoned.  Therefore  no  news  could  be  obtained  of 
our  long  absent  carriers,  or  of  the  Major  and  his  people. 
We   resumed  our  march,   our   course  being  along   the 


476  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Ituri  River,  every  mile,  every  creek,  every  crossing-place 
July  14.  ^jj^  every  camp,  well  known  to  us. 
Fdis"  The  next  day,  rations  all  exhausted,  Madis  perishing 
by  twos  and  threes  daily,  we  reached  Amiri  Falls.  No 
sooner  was  camp  pitched  than  there  was  a  rush  for 
food.  It  w^as  not  to  be  obtained  in  the  immediate 
vicinity,  for  Ugarrow^wa's  multitude  of  600  people  had 
preceded  us  and  devoured  every  edible,  and  that  the 
supply  had  been  insufficient  for  them  was  evident  by 
the  number  of  skeletons  in  his  old  camp.  Distance 
would  not  deter  our  fellows  from  the  Nyanza ;  they 
hastened  onward,  pursuing  a  track  leading  southward, 
until  finally  after  some  hours  they  reached  a  hill  the 
base  of  which  was  one  continuous  thriving  plantation  of 
plantains.  At  a  late  hour  in  the  night  they  brought 
the  good  news  to  camp,  gratified  our  famished  eyes 
with  a  view  of  the  prodigious  fruit,  which  caused  us 
all  to  dream  ecstatically  on  fruity  banquets  of  which 
the  mellow  and  flavoury  plantain  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous. 

Of  course  a  halt  at  such  a  critical  j)eriod  within  reach 
of  such  abundance  was  imperative,  and  at  an  early  hour 
the  camp  was  emptied  of  nearly  every  able  hand, 
excepting  sentries,  to  procure  food.  In  the  afternoon 
the  well-furnished  foragers  returned,  often  in  couples, 
with  an  immense  bunch  between  them,  like  to  the  old 
engraving  of  Caleb  and  Joshua  bearing  the  grapes  of 
Eshcol.  The  more  provident,  however,  bore  larger 
quantities  of  the  fruit,  peeled  and  sliced,  ready  for 
diying,  thus  avoiding  the  superfluous  stalk  and 
plantain  skin.  During  the  absence  of  the  foragers  the 
weaker  of  the  messes  had  erected  the  wooden  grates 
and  collected  the  fuel  for  the  diying  overnight.  The 
fruit  when  thus  dry  could  be  converted  into  cakes,  or 
palatable  plantain  porridge,  or  a  morning's  draught  of 
plantain  gruel.  ]\laiiy  of  tlie  finest  specimens  were 
reserved  to  ripen  to  make  a  sweet  pudding,  or  a  sweet 
brew,  or  for  sauce  for  tlie  porridge. 

On  tlie  HItli  'Inly  wc;  i-csumed  our  march  along  the 
river,  following  our  old  road  as  closely  as  possible,  and 


A    MADI   CHIEF   PREPARES    FOR    DEATH.  477 

in  seven  hours  reached  the  Little  Rapids  above  Navabi  isss. 
Falls.  On  the  next  day  passed  Navabi  Falls,  and  ^^^^  ^'^[ 
took  a  look  at  the  place  where  we  submerged  our  ^m^! 
canoes,  to  discover  that  they  had  been  taken  away. 
Within  four  hours  we  arrived  at  our  old  camp  at 
Avamburi  landing-place.  The  path  was  now  consider- 
ably improved,  for  nearly  a  thousand  pairs  of  feet  had 
trodden  it  since  our  two  score  of  bill-hooks  had  first 
carved  a  passage  through  the  bush.  Many  a  skeleton 
lay  along  the  road,  and  our  moribund  Madis  were 
destined  to  add  a  few  more  to  the  number,  for  day  by 
day  they  dropped  down  never  to  rise  again.  Nothing 
that  we  could  say  would  prevail  to  induce  them  to 
provide  provision  for  the  morrow.  Ten  plantains  they 
thought  an  inexhaustible  stock,  but  the  evening  would 
find  them  hungering  for  more.  The  only  other  means 
left  to  save  their  lives  was  to  halt  as  often  as  possible, 
to  enable  them  to  eat  their  fill.  Accordingly  we  halted 
two  days  at  Avamburi  landing-place,  to  rest  and  comfort 
the  drooping  and  dying  Madis. 

On  the  20th  we  marched  for  seven  and  a  half  hours, 
and  camped  a  few  miles  above  Bafaido  Cataract,  losing  one 
Zanzibari  and  four  Madis  en  route.  One  of  the  latter 
was  a  chief  among  them,  who  sufi"ered  from  a  skewer 
wound  in  the  foot.  As  we  were  startino-  he  stated  his 
mtention  to  die  on  the  spot,  called  his  countrymen 
together,  distributed  his  bracelets,  anklets,  shiny  iron 
collars  and  ear-rings  among  th'cm,  and  then  lay  down 
with  a  placid  countenance,  wherein  not  the  slightest 
emotion  was  discernible.  All  this  was  very  admirable, 
but  it  would  have  been  still  more  admirable  to  have 
bravely  struggled,  than  to  have  so  doggedly  died. 
Three  hours  later  we  discovered  a  canoe  into  which  we 
were  enabled  to  place  a  few  weaklings.  Before  reaching 
camp  we  had  found  three  canoes,  into  which  we  em- 
barked nearly  all  the  ailing  ones.  It  would  have  been 
cruel  to  have  halted  and  sent  back  people  for  the  Madi 
chief;  besides  there  were  many  chances  against  our 
finding  him  alive,  for  as  soon  as  the  rearguard  left  the 
camp  it  was  generally  visited  by  hosts  of  natives,  who 


478  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     would  feel  no  remorse  for  ending  the  feeble  life  of  the 

July  21.   ^^^^  man  lagging  behind  the  column. 

Cataract.  I'^^®  iiext  day  was  a  short  march  of  two  hours. 
Ugarrowwa  had  also  halted  at  Bafaido  Cataract,  and  for 
several  days,  judging  from  the  elaborate  arrangements 
of  his  large  camp,  which  from  a  distance  appeared  like  a 
large  town,  occupying  the  extremity  of  the  river-head 
terminated  by  the  cataract.  Before  arriving  at  Hippo 
Broads  we  were  in  possession  of  four  canoes.  On  the 
next  day,  lunching  at  the  cataract  camp,  where  we  buried 
our  shovels  and  some  articles  which  our  weakening 
force  could  not  carry,  we  examined  the  cache,  and 
discovered  that  the  deserters  had  unearthed  the  ten 
tusks  of  ivory,  and  the  natives  had  possessed  themselves 
of  all  the  remainino-  articles.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we 
camped  at  Basopo  Cataract.  Between  the  tw^o  cataracts 
the  Zanzibaris  discovered  several  canoes  hidden  away  in 
the  creeks  emptying  into  the  Ituri,  and  joyfully,  but 
most  recklessly,  embarked  in  them,  and  notwithstanding 
their  knowledge  of  the  dangerous  channels  of  the 
Basopo  Cataract,  continued  on  their  course  down  the 
furious  stream,  which  caused  us  the  loss  of  a  Zanzibari 
and  a  boy  belonging  to  the  soldiers  of  Emin  Pasha.  In 
the  capsized  canoe  were  also  two  of  the  Pasha's  soldiers, 
Itoth  of  whom  lost  their  rifles  and  their  kit,  and  barely 
escaped  with  their  lives. 

Two  Zanzibaris,  called  Juma  and  Nassib,  wandered 
away  from  the  column  and  were  missing  this  day,  and 
we  were  therefore  obliged  to  halt  on  the  24tl'i  to  send 
out  a  party  to  hunt  for  them.  In  the  afternoon  the 
party  returned  unsuccessful,  l)ut  an  hour  later  we  were 
startled  to  hear  a  bullet  hissing  over  our  heads.  A 
search  was  made,  and  the  culprit  was  found  to  be 
Nassib,  who,  accompanied  by  his  friend  Juma,  was 
retui'ning  to  cam]),  and  who  infoi'mcd  us  that  he  had 
seen  one  of  our  people  in  the  bush  just  outside  the 
camp,  and  had  fired  at  him,  supposing  him  to  be  a 
jjj'owlinir  native.  He  still  more  astonished  us  when  he 
related  that  the  cause  of  his  parting  from  the  column 
was  that  he  and  Juma  had  seen  some  fine  plantains  in  a 


A    TERR  IB  I jE  state   OF  BEING.  479 

plantation,  and  had  sat  down  to  peel  and  dry  a  supply     isss. 
for  the  road.     This  had  consumed  some  eighteen  hours    '"'-^  ""* 
at  least,  and  they  say  that  when  they  sought  the  road  cataract 
they   could   not    find    the    track   of   200   men.     It   is 
difficult  to  decide  which  compelled  most  admiration,  the 
folly  of  these  two  third-rate  men  sitting  calmly  down 
in  the    midst    of  a    plantation    belonging   to  ferocious 
cannibals,  who  generally  closed  the  rear  of  the  columns 
to   avenge  themselves  on  the  strasce^lers,  or  the  alarm 
which  in  this  solitary  instance  possessed  the  natives. 

On  the  2  5  til  we  camped  above  the  Little  Rapids  of 
Bavikai,  and  on  the  next  day  entered  the  populous 
district  of  Ave-jeli,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Nepoko 
affluent,  taking  our  quarters  in  the  village  where 
Dr.  Parke  so  successfully  amputated  the  foot  of  an 
unfortunate  Zanzibari  thirteen  months  before. 

I  was  never  so  sensible  of  the  evils  of  forest  marching 
as  on  this  day.  My  own  condition  of  body  was  so 
reduced,  owing  to  the  mean  and  miserable  diet  of  vege- 
tables on  which  I  was  forced  to  subsist,  that  I  was  more 
than  usually  sympathetic.  At  this  time  there  were 
about  thirty  naked  Madis  in  the  last  stages  of  life  ;  their 
former  ebon  black  was  changed  to  an  ashy  grey  hue, 
and  all  their  bones  stood  out  so  fearfully  prominent  as 
to  create  a  feeling  of  wonder  how  such  skeletons  were 
animated  with  the  power  of  locomotion.  Almost  every 
individual  among  them  was  the  victim  of  some  hideous 
disease,  and  tumours,  scorched  backs,  foetid  ulcers,  were 
common  ;  while  others  were  afflicted  with  chronic  dysen- 
tery and  a  wretched  del)ility  caused  by  insufflcient  food. 
A  mere  glance  at  them,  with  the  mal-odour  generated  by 
ailments,  caused  me  to  gasp  from  a  spasm  of  stomach 
sickness.  AVith  all  this,  the  ground  was  rank  with 
vegetable  corruption,  the  atmosphere  heated,  stifling, 
dark  and  pregnant  with  the  seeds  of  decay  of  myriads 
of  insects,  leaves,  plants,  twigs  and  branches.  At  every 
pace  my  head,  neck,  arms  or  clothes  was  caught  by  a 
tough  creeper,  calamus  thorn,  coarse  briar,  or  a  giant 
thistle-like  plant,  scratching  and  rending  whatever 
portion    they   hooked   on.      Insects   also   of   numberless 


480  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  species  lent  their  aid  to  increase  my  misery,  especially 
.luiy  26  ^i^g  polished  l)lack  ant,  which  affects  the  trumpet  tree. 
^^■^^  '■  As  we  marched  under  the  leaves  these  ants  contrived  to 
drop  on  the  j^erson,  and  their  bite  was  more  vexatious 
than  a  wasp's  or  red  ant's  ;  the  part  bitten  soon  swelled 
largely,  and  became  white  and  blistery.  I  need  not 
name  the  other  species,  black,  yellow  and  red,  which 
crossed  the  path  in  armies  or  clung  to  almost  every  plant 
and  fed  on  every  tree.  These  offensive  sights  and 
odours  we  met  day  after  day,  and  each  step  taken  was 
fraught  with  its  own  particular  evil  and  annoyance,  but 
with  my  present  fading  strength  and  drooping  spirits, 
they  had  become  almost  unbearable.  My  mind  suffered 
under  a  constant  strain  of  anxiety  respecting  the  fate  of 
my  twenty  choice  men  wdiich  w^ere  despatched  as  couriers 
to  the  rear  column  under  Major  Barttelot,  as  well  as  of 
the  rear  column  itself.  I  had  had  no  meat  of  any  kind, 
of  bird  or  beast,  for  nearly  a  month,  subsisting  entirely 
on  bananas  or  plantains,  which,  however  varied  in  their 
treatment  by  the  cook,  failed  to  satisfy  the  jaded 
stomach.  My  muscles  had  become  thin  and  flabby,  and 
were  mere  cords  and  sinews,  every  limb  was  in  a  tremor 
while  travelling,  and  the  vitals  seemed  to  groan  in  anguish 
for  a  small  morsel  of  meat. 

At  camp  I  overheard  a  conversation  carried  on 
between  my  tent-boy  Sali  and  another  Zanzibari.  The 
boy  was  saying  that  he  believed  the  "Master"  would 
not  last  long,  how  he  had  observed  that  his  powers  were 
declining  fast.  "  Please  God,"  said  the  other,  "  we  shall 
find  goats  or  fowls  in  a  few  days.  It  is  meat  he  needs, 
and  he  shall  c^et  it  if  Umirrowwa  has  not  cleared  out  the 
country." 

"  Ah,"  said  tSali,  "  if  the  Zanzibaris  were  men  instead 
of  being  brutes,  they  would  surely  share  with  the  master 
what  meat  they  get  while  foraging.  Do  they  not  use 
his  guns  and  cartridges,  and  are  they  not  paid  wages  for 
using  them.  I  can't  understand  why  they  should  not 
share  what  they  obtain  with  the  master's  own  rifles." 

"  'J'liere  are  few  here  so  wicked  as  not  to  do  it — if  they 
get  anything  wortli  sharing,"  replied  the  other. 


AN  ARMY   OF  BATS  481 

"  But  I  know  better,"  said  Sali.  "  Some  of  the  1888. 
Zanzibaris  find  a  fowl  or  a  goat  almost  every  day,  but  I  "^"'y  ^^ 
do  not  see  any  of  them  bringing  anything  to  the  master."     ^^'•'*' '" 

At  this  juncture  I  called  out  to  Sali,  and  enjoined  him 
to  tell  me  all  he  knew.  By  dint  of  questioning,  the  fact 
was  elicited  that  there  was  some  truth  in  what  he 
had  stated.  Two  of  the  Zanzibari  chiefs,  Murabo,  of 
Bumbire  fame,  and  AVadi  Mabruki,  had  discovered  a 
goat  and  three  fowls  on  the  25th,  and  had  secretly  eaten 
them.  This  was  one  of  the  first  instances  of  signal 
ingratitude  discovered  in  these  two  men.  From  this  day 
the  effect  of  the  disclosure  resulted  in  obtaining  a  share 
in  the  spoils.  Three  fowls  were  delivered  to  me  before 
evening,  and  a  few  days  later  I  had  regained  normal 
strength.  This  happy  result  in  my  own  case  proved 
what  the  needs  of  the  poor  naked  Madis  were. 

A  heavy  stock  of  provisions  of  dried  plantains  was 
prepared  at  Ave'-jeli,  and  our  increasing  flotilla  of  canoes 
enabled  us  to  embark  all  our  Madis,  baggage,  and  half 
of  the  Zanzibari  force. 

We  formed  our  next  day's  camp  near  Avugadu  Eapids, 
and  on  the  27th  passed  the  canoes  over  the  rapids,  and 
halted  for  the  night  a  few  miles  below. 

We  lunched  at  our  old  camp,  where  I  remained  so 
many  days  while  waiting  and  searching  for  the  lost 
Expedition  in  August,  '87,  on  the  30th  July,  and  took 
up  our  night's  quarters  at  Mabengu  village. 

At  this  villao;e  we  observed  about  sunset  an  immense 
number  of  large  bats,  called  "  popo  "  in  Sw^ahili,  sailing- 
over  our  heads  to  their  night  roosts  across  the  river.  A 
thin  riband  of  sky  was  alone  visible  above  where  I  stood, 
and  I  counted  680  of  the  number  that  flew  within  view. 
As  the  army  of  bats  must  have  spread  over  several 
miles  of  the  forest,  a  rough  approximation  of  the  many 
thousands  that  were  flying  may  be  made. 

On  the  last  day  of  July  we  reached  Avisibba,  famous 
for  its  resistance  to  our  advance  column  last  year,  and 
for  the  fatal  efl"ects  of  the  poisoned  arrows  employed  in 
the  conflict.  In  one  of  the  huts  we  found  the  top  of  one 
of  our  tent-poles,  wrapped  carefully  in  leaves,  with  a 

VOL.    I.  F  ¥ 


A.visibba. 


482  IN  DAPiKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  small  piece  of  cartridge  paper,  a  hit  of  green  velvet  from 
July  31.  ^^j.  surg;ical  instrument  case,  and  the  brass  case  of  a 
Remington  cartridge.  The  curious  package  was  hung  up 
to  one  of  the  rafters,  and  probably  consecrated  to  some 
fetish. 

In  another  hut  we  discovered  a  collar  of  iron  rino-s, 
and  ten  unfired  cartridge  cases.  These  last  must  have 
belonged  to  one  of  our  unfortunate  deserters,  whose  flesh 
must  have  simmered  in  a  pot  over  a  fire  and  formed  a 
family  repast.  An  old  jacket  was  also  picked  up  later, 
which  deepened  the  probability. 

Shortly  after  landing  at  the  village  a  little  naked  girl 
aljout  eight  years  old  walked  composedly  into  view  and 
surprised  us  all  by  addressing  us  in  the  Zanzibar!  lan- 
guage. 

She  cried  out,  "  It  is  true,  then  ?  I  heard  a  gunshot, 
and  I  said  to  myself  wdiile  in  my  hiding-place,  these 
must  be  my  own  people,  and  I  Avill  go  and  see  them, 
for  the  Pagans  have  no  2runs." 

She  gave  her  name  as  "  Hatuna-mgini  "  (we  have  no 
other),  and  related  that  she  and  five  full-grown  women 
were  abandoned  by  Ugarrowwa  at  that  place  because 
they  were  very  sick,  and  that  soon  after  Ugarrowwa  had 
departed  with  his  large  flotilla  of  canoes  the  natives 
rushed  in  and  killed  the  five  women,  but  that  she  had 
run  away  and  hidden  herself,  where  she  had  remained 
ever  since,  living  on  raw  wild  fruit,  l)ut  in  the  night 
she  had  succeeded  in  gathering  bananas,  which,  wdieii 
ripe,  she  could  eat  uncooked,  since  no  fire  w^as  possible. 
Ugari-owwa  ]i;id  liad  a  skirmisli  with  the  Avisibbas, 
in  wlii(']i  he  liad  kilk'd  a  gi-eat  number.  He  had  stayed 
lieic  five  days  preparing  food,  and  had  departed  many 
days — "more  than  ten  days." 

A  marcli  of  four  and  a  half  liours  to  Eiigwcdde,  and 
aiiol  liei- of  se\-eii  and  a,  half  houi'S,  took  us  to  a  camp 
opposile  an  island  oecnpied  by  the  l>aj)aiya  fishermen, 
a  few  miles  aboN'e  1  he  Xejanibi  llapids.  Kifles,  accoutre- 
ments, were  disembarked,  and  the  canoemen  were 
orclei'cd  to  j)ass  liieir  canoes  down  the  left  branch. 
While  the  land  parly  was  engaged  in  the  portage,  the 


TREACHERY  AT  RANG  A    FALLS.  483 

majority  of  the  canoemen  preferred  to  take   the   rif^ht     1888. 
branch,  in  which  act  of  disobediance  the  Zanzibari  chief   "'"'^'  ^^^* 
and  five  Madis  h:>st  their  lives,  one  canoe  was  lost,  and  ^^^""   ^ 
two    others    capsized,    but    afterwards    recovered.      A 
Zanzibari   named    Salim  was    so   bruised  and   battered 
by  the   flood  sweeping  liim   against  the  rocks  that  he 
was  unable  to  walk  for  nearly  a  month  afterwards. 

About  3  P.M.  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  arrived 
about  5  P.M.  at  Pans^a  Falls.  Leavino-  a  detachment 
of  them  to  guard  the  canoes,  we  formed  camp  below 
the  Falls.  The  land  party  succeeded  in  finding  a  small 
supply  of  Indian  corn,  which,  converted  into  meal, 
made  me  a  porridge  supper. 

A  downpour  of  rain,  commencing  at  midnight  and 
continuing  until  1  p.m.  of  the  5th  of  August,  much 
impeded  our  work,  but  by  night  we  had  our  flotilla 
of  nineteen  canoes  safe  below  the  Falls,  in  front  of  our 
camp. 

The  natives  of  Panga  had  l)etaken  themselves  into 
an  island  near  the  right  Ijank,  with  all  their  goats, 
fowls,  and  other  property,  but  they  had  left  several 
nets  and  wires  within  reach  in  the  various  branches 
on  our  side,  whence  we  obtained  some  fine  large  fish. 
The  natives  were  practically  safe,  inasmuch  as  no  body 
of  men  with  other  business  in  view  would  incur  the 
trouble  of  molesting  them.  They,  however,  manifested 
most  plausibly  a  desire  to  make  terms  of  amity  with  us 
by  pouring  water  on  their  heads  and  sprinkling  their 
bodies  with  it,  and  some  of  our  men  good-naturedly 
approached  their  island  and  responded  reciprocally. 
The  daring  natives  pushed  across  the  cataract,  •  and 
one  of  them  contrived  to  draw  himself  unperceived 
near  one  of  our  men,  and  stabbed  him  in  the  back. 

A  halt  was  ordered  the  next  day,  and  a  band  of  forty 
men  proceeded  inland  to  forage,  returning  towards 
night,  each  with  a  load  of  eatables  ;  but  one  of  their 
number,  a  Madi,  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  back 
with  an  arrow. 

Our  old  camp  opposite  the  confluence  of  the  Ngula 
River  and  the  Ituri  was  reached  on  the  7th  in  two  and 


484  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  a  half  hours  by  the  canoes,  but  the  Lmd  party  occupied 
Aug.  8.  eight  hours  in  marching  the  distance,  which  I  estimated 
banga's.   ^t  clcven  milcs. 

At  Mambanga's  on  the  north  bank,  which  we  reached 
the  next  day,  w^e  found  a  good  supply  of  food,  but  a 
Zanzibari  named  Jaliffi  was  seriously  wounded  with  a 
wooden  arrow  in  the  chest.  A  portion  an  inch  and  a 
half  long  was  imbedded  in  the  wounded  part,  which 
incapacitated  him  from  duty  for  over  tw^o  months.  On 
the  point  of  the  arrow  being  ejected,  the  wound  soon 
closed. 

At  Mugwye's — or  ]\ly-yui — the  next  place,  a  great 
change  had  occurred.  All  the  villages  were  obliterated 
by  fire,  and  the  fine  plantain  plantations  cut  down,  and 
at  ]\Iugwye's  own  village  there  stood  an  immense  camp. 
Believing  that  Ugarrowwa  was  present,  we  fired  a  signal 
shot,  but  no  answer  being  returned,  we  proceeded  to 
our  old  camj)  on  the  left  bank,  where  on  one  of  the 
trees  Lieutenant  Stairs  had  carved  the  date  "  July  31st" 
(1887)  for  the  benefit  of  the  Major. 

Arriving  at  our  old  camp,  we  were  surprised  to  see 
the  l)ody  of  a  w^oman  l)elonging  to  Ugarrowwa's,  freshly 
killed  and  w^ashed,  laid  out  on  the  bank  close  to  the 
river,  and  near  by  three  bunches  of  plantains,  two 
cooking-pots,  and  a  canoe  capable  of  carrying  five 
people.  It  was  evident  to  us  that  a  party  of  natives 
hearing  the  signal  shot,  had  decamped,  and  had  been 
obliged  to  abandon  their  intended  feast. 

A  party  of  men  was  sent  across  the  river  to  recon- 
noitre, and  in  a  short  time  they  came  back  reporting 
rliat  Ugarrowwa  must  have  departed  that  same  morning 
(low  II  the  river.  This  was  very  regrettable  to  me,  as  I 
bun  led  to  ascertain  what  lie  had  heard  of  the  news  from 
down  liver,  and  I  also  wished  to  beo;  of  him  not  to 
j-avage  \\\o.  couiitiy  for  the  benefit  of  succeeding  caravans, 
wlii(h  would  sullcr  sci'ious  loss  from  tlie  wlioh'sale  havoc 
and  (|c\;isi;ii  ion  attending  Ids  journey. 

( )n  the,  lOlli  of  .\ugust  I  dcilivercd  over  to  ihc  care 
of  tli(!  senior  Zan/iliar  <  liicl",  llaslud,  thirty-five  of  the 
ablest  of  oui'  nicn,  with  a  (.hai'gc  to  pursue  our  old  track 


WE   MEETING    WITH   OUlt    CO(JBl£IiS.  485 

along  the  river  as  I  intended  to  descend  the  river  with     1888. 
our  canoe  flotilla  without  a  halt  as  far  as  Wasp  Rapids,   ^^^'  ^^; 
where  no  doubt  we   should  overtake  Ugarrowwa,   and     "S^yei. 
where  we  should  stay  together  until  he  should  reach  us. 
At   6.40  A.M.  we  set  out,  and,  paddling  vigorously, 
were  in  the  neighbourhood  of  AVasp  Eapids  at  11  a.m. 
Long  before  w^e  heard  the  roar  of  the  rushing  river  over 
the   rocky   reefs   which   obstruct   its   course  there,  we 
descried  an  immense  camp  on  the  right  bank,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  forms  of  men  in  white  dresses  moving 
about  the  bush.     When  we  had  approached  within  rifle 
range  we  fired  some  signal  shots  and  hoisted  our  flag, 
which   was   no    sooner   seen    than    the   deep   boom   of 
heavily-loaded   muskets    announced   that   we   were  re- 
cognized.    Soon  several  large  canoes  pushed  from  the 
right  bank  towards  us,  as  we  were  descending  along  the 
left  bank,  and  hailed  us  in  the  Swahili  language.     After 
the  usual  exchange  of  compliments  we  then  asked  the 
news,  and  to  our  great  joy,  not  unmixed  with  grief,  we 
learned  that  our  couriers,  who   had  now"  been  absent 
from  us  nearly  six  months,  were  in  Ugarrowwa's  camp. 
The  couriers  had  left  Lieutenant  Stairs  at  Ugarrowwa's 
station  on  the   16tli  of  March,  and  had  reached  Wasp 
Rapids  in  seventeen  days,  or  on  the  1st  of  April,  w'here 
they  had  been  driven  back  with  a  loss  of  four  of  their 
number.     Perceiving  that  they  Avere  unable  to  pierce 
through  the  hostile  crowds,  they  had  travelled  back  to 
Ugarrowwa's  station,  which  they  reached  on  the  26th  of 
April,  and  where  tliey  placed  themselves  in  Ugarrowwa's 
hands.     X  month    later,   Ugarrowwa,   having   collected 
his   people  from  the  outlying  stations,   commenced  his 
descent  of  the  Ituri  River,  our  couriers  accompanying 
him,    reaching  Wasp   Rapids    on    the    9th  of  August, 
having   been    seventy-six    days    en   route.     That   same 
period  we  had  occupied  in  travelling  from  the  Albert 
Nyanza,    the  lOtli    of  August   being  the  twenty-ninth 
day  since  we  had  left  Ugarrowwa's  old  station. 

After  forming  our  camp  on  the  left  bank  in  the 
deserted  village  of  Bandeyah,  opposite  the  camp  of 
Ugarrowwa's,  in  the  deserted  village  of  Bandekiya,  the 


486  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  surviving  couriers,  accompanied  by  Ugarrowwa  and  his 
Aug.  11.  j^gyj  men,  visited  us.  Amid  a  deep  silence  the  head 
Ban  eya.  ^^^^^^^  related  his  tragic  story  : 

"  jMaster,  when  you  called  for  volunteers  to  hear  your 
letter  to  the  Major,  there  was  not  a  man  of  us  but 
intended  to  do  his  very  best,  knowing  that  we  were  all 
to  receive  a  high  reward  and  great  honour  if  we  succeeded. 
We  have  done  our  best,  and  we  have  failed.  We  have, 
therefore,  lost  both  reward  and  honour.  It  is  the  men 
who  have  gone  with  you  to  the  Nyanza  and  found  the 
Pasha,  and  can  boast  of  having  seen  him  face  to  face, 
who  deserve  best  at  your  hands.  But  if  we  have  not 
succeeded  in  finding  the  Major  and  gladdening  his  heart 
with  the  good  news  we  had  to  tell,  God  he  knows  it  has 
not  been  through  any  fault  of  our  own,  but  rather 
because  it  is  His  will  that  we  should  not  do  so.  We 
have  lost  four  of  our  number,  and  I  am  the  only  one 
who  cannot  show  a  wound  received  during  the  journey. 
We  have  two,  who  though  alive,  seem  to  be  incurable 
from  the  poison  in  their  blood.  Some  of  our  men  have 
as  many  as  five  arrow  wounds  to  show  you.  As  far  as 
Avisibba  we  came  down  the  river  smoothly  enough,  but 
then  the  sharp  work  soon  commenced.  At  Engwedde 
two  were  w^ounded.  At  Panga  Falls  three  men  were 
most  seriously  hurt  by  arrows.  Between  Panga  Falls 
and  here  was  a  continued  fight  day  after  day,  night 
after  night ;  the  natives  seemed  to  know  long  before  we 
readied  them  our  full  strength,  and  set  on  us  either  in 
full  da}diglit  or  in  the  darkness,  as  though  resolved  to 
exterminate  us.  Why  they  should  show  so  much  courage 
witli  us  when  they  liad  shown  themselves  so  cowardly 
wluiii  we  went  uj)  with  }'ou,  I  cannot  say,  unless  our 
deserters,  coming  down  river  l)y  lialf-dozens,  have  enabled 
the  Pagans  to  taste  the  flavour  of  Zanzibari  blood,  and 
they  having  succeeded  so  well  with  them,  imagined  they 
(iould  succeed  with  us.  However,  when  we  reached  this 
village  wherein  you  are  now  encamped,  there  were  only 
cl(;ven  of  us  fit  for  anything  ;  all  the  rest  were  sore  from 
their  wounds  and  one  was  helpless;  and  soon  after 
our    eoiiiinL;'    thi^   liijht    bei^aii    in    real    earnest.      Those 


A    TRAOIO  STORY.  487 

from    that  great  village   opposite    us   joined    with   the     isss. 
natives  of  Bandeya  ;  the  river  seemed  to  swarm  with    ^"^'  ^^' 
canoes,  and  the  busli  around  this  village  was  alive  with      '"'  '^** 
natives.     After  an  hour's  trial,  during  which  time  many 
of  them  must  have  been  killed,  for  they  were  so  crowded, 
especially  on   the   river,  we  were   left  in  peace.      We 
availed  (jurselves  in  fortifying,  as  well  as  we  could,  the 
few  huts  we  had  selected  for  our  quarters  during  the 
night. 

"  When  night  fell  we  placed  sentries  as  usual,  as  you 
and  Lieut.  Stairs  and  Ugarrowwa,  all  of  you,  enjoined 
on  us ;  but,  wearied  with  work  and  harassed  by  care, 
our  sentries  must  have  slept,  for  the  first  thing  we 
knew  was  that  the  natives  had  pulled  down  our  zeriba 
and  entered  into  the  camp,  and  a  wild  cry  from  a  man 
who  received  a  fatal  thrust  with  a  spear  woke  us  up  to 
find  them  amongst  us.  We  each  grasped  our  rifles  and 
fired  at  the  nearest  man,  and  six  of  them  fell  dead  at 
our  feet.  This  f(jr  a  moment  paralysed  them  ;  but  we 
heard  a  chief's  voice  say,  *  These  men  have  run  aw^ay 
from  Bula  Matari.  Not  one  of  them  must  live.'  Then 
from  the  river  and  the  bush  they  came  on  in  dense 
crowds,  which  the  flashes  of  our  rifles'  fire  lit  up,  and 
their  great  numbers  seemed  for  a  short  time  to  frighten 
the  best  of  us.  Lakkin,  however,  who  is  never  so 
funny  as  when  in  trouble,  shouted  out,  '  These  fellows 
have  come  for  meat — give  it  them,  but  let  it  be  of  their 
own  people,'  and  wounded  men  and  all  took  their  rifles 
and  took  aim  as  though  at  a  target.  How  many  of 
them  fell  I  cannot  say ;  but  when  our  cartridges  were 
beginning  to  run  low  they  ran  away,  and  we  were  left 
to  count  the  dead  around  us.  Two  of  our  men  never 
answered  to  their  names,  a  third  called  Jumah,  the  son 
of  Nassib,  called  out  to  me,  and  when  I  w^ent  to  him  I 
found  him  bleeding  to  death.  He  had  just  strength 
enough  to  charge  me  to  give  the  journey  up.  '  Go 
back,'  said  he.  '  I  give  you  my  last  words.  Go  back. 
You  cannot  reach  the  Major  ;  therefore  whatever  you  do, 
go  back  to  Ugarrowwa's.'  Having  said  this,  he  gave 
up  his  last  breath,  and  rolled  over,  dead. 


488  IN  D  J  BREST  AFRICA. 

1888.  "  In  the  morning  we  buried  our  own  people,  and  around 
Aug  11.  Q^j,  zeriba  there  were  nine  natives  dead,  while  within 
''^  ^^^'  there  were  six.  We  beheaded  the  bodies,  and  after 
collecting  their  heads  in  a  heap,  held  council  together  as 
to  the  best  course  to  follow.  There  were  seventeen  of 
us  alive,  but  there  were  now  only  four  of  us  untouched 
by  a  wound.  Jumah's  last  words  rung  in  our  ears  like  a 
warning  also,  and  we  decided  to  return  to  Ugarrowwa's. 
It  was  easier  said  than  done.  I  will  not  weary  you 
with  details — we  met  trouble  after  trouljle.  Those  who 
were  wounded  before  were  again  wounded  with  arrows ; 
those  who  were  unwounded  did  not  escape — not  one 
excepting  myself,  who  am  by  God's  mercy  still  whole. 
A  canoe  was  capsized  and  we  lost  five  rifles.  Ismail ia 
was  shot  dead  at  Panga  Falls.  But  why  need  we  say 
over  again  what  I  have  already  said  ?  We  reached 
Ugarrowwa's  after  an  absence  of  forty-three  days.  There 
were  only  sixteen  of  us  alive,  and  fifteen  of  us  were 
wounded.  Let  the  scars  of  those  wounds  tell  the  rest 
of  the  story.  We  are  all  in  God's  hands  and  in  yours. 
Do  with  us  as  you  see  fit.     I  have  ended  my  words." 

Among  those  who  heard  this  dreadful  story  of  trials 
for  the  first  time  there  was  scarcely  a  dry  eye.  Down 
many  faces  the  tears  ran  copiously,  and  deep  sighs  and 
ejaculations  of  pity  gushed  from  the  sympathetic  hearts. 
When  the  speaker  had  finished,  before  my  verdict  was 
given,  there  was  a  rush  towards  him,  and  hands 
stretched  out  to  grasp  his  own,  while  they  cried  out 
with  weeping  eyes,  "  Thank  God  !  thank  God  !  You 
have  done  bravely  ;  yes,  }'ou  have  shown  real  worth,  and 
the  mettle  of  men." 

It  was  thus  we  welcomed  our  long-lost  couriers, 
whose  fate  had  been  ever  in  our  minds  since  our 
departure  from  Fort  Jiodo.  They  had  been  singularly 
unsuccessful  in  the  ol)ject  of  their  mission,  but  somehow 
they  could  not  have  been  more  honoured  by  us  had 
they  returned  with  letters  from  the  INFajor.  The  story 
of  their  efforts  and  their  sufferings  was  well  told,  and 
was  i-end(!r('(l  more  elhM^tive  and  tlii'illino;  bv  the  sioht 
of   the  many  wounds  each  member  of  the  gjilhmt  band 


Aug.  11- 
BanJeya, 


VGABROWWA.  480 

had  received,  Tlirougli  the  kindness  of  Ugarroww^a,  ^i888 
whose  sympathies  had  been  won  by  the  same  sad  but 
brave  story,  their  wounds  had  soon  healed,  with  the 
exception  of  two,  who  though  now  only  greatly  scarred 
were  constantly  ailing  and  weak.  I  may  state  here 
that  one  finally  recovered  in  the  course  of  two  months 
his  usual  strength,  the  other  in  the  same  time  faded 
away  and  died. 

In  Ugarrowwa's  camp  were  also  discovered  three 
famous  deserters,  and  two  of  our  convalescents  who 
were  abse-nt  foraging  during  Lieut.  Stairs'  visit.  One 
of  these  deserters  had  marched  away  with  a  box  of 
ammunition,  another  had  stolen  a  box  containing  some 
of  Eniin  Pasha's  boots  and  a  few  pairs  of  my  own. 
They  had  ventured  into  a  small  canoe  which  naturally 
was  capsized,  and  they  had  experienced  some  remark- 
able hair-bread  til  escapes  before  they  arrived  at  Ugar- 
rowwa's. They  had  been  delivered  as  prisoners  to 
Lieut.  Stairs,  but  a  few  days  later,  they  again  escaped 
to  Uirarrowwa's,  who  was  again  induced  to  deliver  them 
up  to  mc.  These  two  afterwards  behaved  exceedingly 
well,  but  the  third,  while  a  victim  to  small-pox,  some  few 
weeks  later,  escaped  from  the  care  of  his  friends  and 
leaped  into  the  Nejambi  Eapids,  where  he  was  drowned. 

Ugarrowwa,  being  out  of  powder,  was  more  than 
usually  kind.  A  notable  present  of  four  goats,  four 
sacks  of  rice,  and  three  large  canoes  was  made  to  me. 
The  goats  and  rice,  as  may  be  imagined,  were  very 
welcome  to  us,  nor  were  the  canoes  a  despicable  gift,  as 
I  could  now  treble  the  rate  of  our  descent  down  the 
river ;  for  in  addition  to  our  own  canoes  the  entire  Ex- 
pedition of  130  fighting  men,  boys,  followers,  and  Madi, 
carriers,  besides  the  baggage  could  be  embarked. 

No  news  had  been  obtained  of  our  Eear  Column  by 
either  the  couriers  or  Uixarrowwa.  The  letter  to  the 
Major,  which  I  had  delivered  to  Ugarrowwa  for  despatch 
by  his  couriers  last  September,  was  now  returned  to 
me  with  the  letters  from  my  own  couriers.  He  had 
sent  forty-five  men  down  the  river,  but  at  Manginni, 
about  half-way  between  Wasp  Rapids  and  My-yui,  they 


490  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  had  been  obliged  to  return.  Thus  both  efforts  to  com- 
^ug- 11.  niu^ieate  with  Major  Barttelot  had  been  unsuccessful^ 
^"  ^^^'  and  could  not  luit  deepen  the  impression  that  something 
exceedingly  awry  had  occurred  with  the  Rear  Column. 
Among  the  letters  delivered  to  me  by  Ugarrowwa  was 
one  open.  It  is  descriptive  and  amusing,  and  char- 
acteristic of  our  Doctor  : — 

"Fort  Bodo, 
"  My  dear  old  Barttelot,  "  ^'"^^^  I'ehrmry,  1888. 

"  I  hope  you  are  '  going  strong,'  and  Jameson  '  pulling  doiible.' 
Kone  of  ns  here  have  any  idea  where  you  are.  Some  of  us  officers 
and  men  say  you  are  on  the  way  up  river,  otliers  say  you  are  still  at 
Yambuya,  uiia'ble  to  move  with  a  large  number  of  loads,  and  amongst 
the  men  there  is  an  idea  that  your  Zanzibaris  may  have  gone  over  to 
Tipjni  Tib.  Stanley  reached  the  Lake  14th  December,  1887,  but  could 
not  communicate  with  Emin  Pasha.  As  he  had  not  got  his  boat,  he 
then  came  back  from  the  Lake  into  the  bush,  and  made  this  fort  to  store 
his  baggage,  while  he  again  goes  on  to  the  Lake  with  Jephson  and  boat. 
Stairs  goes  to  Ugarrowwa's  to-morrow  with  twenty  men,  who  are  to  go 
on  to  you  and  who  bring  this  letter.  Stairs  returns  here  with  about 
forty  or  fifty  men  who  were  left  at  Ugarrowwa's,  and  then  goes  on  after 
Stanley,  as  "the  place  is  only  80  or  lOU  miles  from  the  Lake.  I  am  to  stay 
at  this  fort  with  forty  or  fifty  men.  Nelson,  who  has  been  ailing  for 
months,  therefore  also  remains  here.  We  had  an  awful  time  coming 
here.  I  often  said  I  was  starved  at  school,  but  it  was  stuffing  compared 
with  what  we  have  gone  through.  I  am  glad  to  say  all  the  white  men 
are  very  fit,  but  the  mortality  amongst  the  men  was  enormous,  something 
like  50  per  cent.  Up  to  Ugarrowwa's  there  is  plenty  of  food,  but  little 
or  none  along  the  river  this  side  of  Ugarrowwa's.  Stanley,  I  know,  is 
writing  yoii  all  about  the  starvation  and  the  road.  To-day,  Stanley  fell 
in  all  the  men,  and  asked  them  all  if  they  wanted  to  go  to  the  Lake  ergo 
back  for  you.  ]\Iost  of  the  men  at  first  wanted  to  go  back,  but  after- 
wards the  majority  were  for  the  Lake;  both  Stairs,  Jephson,  and  myself 
were  for  tlie  Lake,  so  as  to  decide  if  Emin  Pasha  was  alive  or  not,  so  as 
not  to  l)riiig  your  column  up  all  this  way  and  then  go  back  to  Muta 
Nzige.  All  the  men  arc  as  fat  as  butter,  some  of  them,  however,  who 
stayed  with  me  at  an  Arab  camp  for  three  months,  wliere  I  was  left  to 
look  after  Nelson,  ami  sick  men,  and  boxes,  etc.,  arc  reduced  to  skin  and 
bone.  Out  of  thirty-eight,  eleven  died  of  starvation.  Stairs  was  the  only 
officer  wounded,  but  many  of  the  men  died  from  their  wounds. 

"  We  are  all  in  a  bad  way  for  boots;  none  of  us  have  a  good  pair.  I 
have  made  two  ])airs,  but  they  did  not  last  long,  and  all  my  clothes  have 
been  stolen  by  *  l^ehani,'  a  Zanzibari.  Stanley  has  had  me  working 
hard  all  day,  and  I  have  only  time  to  write  these  few  lines  as  the  sun 
is  going  down.  Our  party  have  lost  and  sold  a  great  quantity  of 
iimiiiunition. 

"(iive  iny  best  wishes  fo  old  Jameson,  also  the  oilier  fellows  whom  I 
know;  and  hoping  to  see  you  u])  here  before  long, 

"  Believe  me,  yours  very  sincerely, 
"J.  If.  P. 

"We  are  all  awfully  .sick  of  this  '  bush';  it  continues  to  within  u  few 
TTiilcH  of  tlie  liuke." 


WHOLESALE  DEVASTATION.  491 

The  next  clay  was   a  halt.     The  senior  Chief  Rashid     isss. 
and  his  land  party  did  not  arrive  before  2  p.m.  of  the  ■'^"^-  ^^* 
11th.     The  current  had  carried  our  flotilla  in  five  hours,   ^'*'""'^"' 
a  journey  which  occupied  him  fifteen  hours'  march.   But 
on  the  12th  of  August,  having  safely  passed  the  canoes 
below  the  rapids,  we  embarked  at  noon  and  proceeded 
down   river.     Opposite  Elephant-playground   camp  we 
met  one  of  Ugarrowwa's  scouting  canoes  ascending,  the 
men  of  which  related  wonderful  stories  of  the  strength, 
fierceness,  and  boldness  of  the  Batundu  natives.     Two 
hours  later  the  Batundu  drums  announced  our  advent 
on  the  river  ;  but  w^hen  their  canoes  advanced  to  reckon 
the  number  of  our  vessels,  they  quietly  retired,  and  we 
occupied  their  chief  village  in  peace,  and  slept  undis- 
turbed during  the  night. 

At  S.  Mupe  we  arrived  on  the  13th,  and  halted  one 
day  to  prepare  food  for  our  further  journey  down  river, 
but  on  the  next  day,  the  15th,  we  passed  the  flotilla 
safely  down  the  various  rapids,  and  camped  below  the 
lowest  Mariri  Eapids. 

Resuming  the  journey  on  the  IGth,  we  floated  and 
paddled  past  three  of  our  land  march  camps,  and  on  a 
large  island  possessing  huts  sufiicient  to  accommodate 
2,000  people  we  halted  for  the  night.  Both  banks  oi 
the  river  were  unpeopled  and  abandoned,  but  no  one 
could  impart  any  reason  for  this  wholesale  devastation. 
Our  first  thought  w^as  that  our  visit  had  perhaps  caused 
their  abandonment,  but  as  the  natives  had  occupied 
their  respective  villages  in  view  of  the  rear  guard,  we 
concluded  that  probably  some  internecine  war  w^as  the 
cause. 

This  day  was  the  eighty-third  since  we  had  departed 
from  the  shores  of  the  Albert  Nyanza,  and  the  sixtieth 
since  we  had  left  Fort  Bodo.  Our  progress  had  been 
singularly  successful.  Of  the  naked  Madi  carriers  we 
had  lost  a  great  many,  nearly  half  of  the  number  that 
we  had  departed  from  the  Nyanza  wdth  ;  but  of  the 
hardened  and  acclimatised  Zanzibaris  we  had  lost  but 
three,  two  of  whom  were  by  drowning,  and  one  was 
missing   through  a  fit  of  spleen.     Five    hundred   and 


492  m  DARKEST  AFHICA. 

1888.     sixty    miles    of    tlie    journey    had   been   accomplislied, 
Ang.  16.    (^}jgj,Q  were  only  ninety  miles  remaining  between  Bun- 

gc£""  gangeta  Island  and  Yambuya,  yet  not  a  rumour  of  any 
kind  had  been  heard  respecting  the  fate  of  our  friends 
and  followers  of  the  rear  column.  This  constant  and  un- 
satisfied longing,  pressing  on  my  mind  with  a  weight  as 
of  lead,  with  the  miserable  unnourishing  diet  of  dry  plan- 
tains, was  fast  reducing  me  into  an  aged  and  decrepit  state 
of  mind  and  body.  That  old  buoyant  confident  feeling 
which  had  upheld  me  so  long  had  nearly  deserted  me 
quite.  I  sat  near  sunset  by  the  w^aterside  alone,  watching 
the  sun  subside  lower  and  lower  before  the  horizon  of  black 
foliage  that  bounded  Makubana,  the  limits  of  my  view. 
I  watched  the  ashen  grey  clouds  preceding  the  dark  calm 
of  night,  and  I  thought  it  represented  but  too  faithfully 
the  melancholy  which  I  could  not  shake  off.  This  day 
was  nearly  twelve  months  from  the  date  the  rear  column 
should  have  set  out  from  Yambuya — 3G5  days.  Within 
this  period  100  carriers  only  might  have  been  able  to 
have  advanced  as  far  as  Bungangeta,  even  if  they  had  to 
make  seven  round  trips  backwards  and  forwards  ?  What 
could  possibly  have  happened  except  wholesale  desertion 
caused  by  some  misunderstanding  between  the  officers 
and  men  ?  In  the  darkness  I  turned  into  my  tent,  but 
in  my  nervous  and  highly-strung  state  could  find  no 
comfort  there  ;  and  at  last  I  yielded  and  implored  the  all- 
seeing  and  gracious  Providence  to  restore  to  me  my 
followers  and  companions,  and  allay  the  heartache  that 
was  killing  me. 

At  the  usual  hour  on  the  17th,  we  embarked  in  our 
canoes  and  resumed  our  journey  down  the  river,  paddling 
languidly  as  we  floated.  It  was  a  sombre  morning ;  a 
heavy  greyness  of  sky  painted  the  eternal  forest  tops  of 
a  sombrous  mourning  colour.  As  we  glided  past 
liungangeta  district  we  ol)servcd  that  the  desolation  had 
not  been  confmed  to  it,  but  that  Makul)ana  also  had 
shared  the  same  fate  ;  and  soon  after  cominix  in  view  of 
the  mighty  curve  of  Banalya,  which  south  or  left  bank 
liad  been  so  populous,  wc  observed  that  the  district  of 
the  l»;iii;ilya   had  also  been  included.      But  about  lialf- 


THE  MAJOR,    BOTS  ! 


493 


past  nine  we  saw  one  village,  a  great  way  down  tlirough 
the  light  mist  of  the  morning,  still  standing,  which 
we  supposed  was  the  limit  of  the  devastation.  But  as 
we  drew  near  we  discovered  that  it  had  a  stockade.  In 
July  1887,  when  we  passed  up,  Banalya  was  deemed  too 
powerful  to  need  a  stockade.  Presently  white  dresses 
were  seen,  and  quickly  taking  up  my  field  glass,  I 
discovered  a  red  flag  hoisted.  A  suspicion  of  the  truth 
crept  into  my  mind.     A  light  putf  of  wind  unrolled  the 


188S. 
Aug.  17. 

Banalya. 


VIEW   OV   BANALYA    CUIiVli. 


flag  for  an  instant,  and  the  "white  crescent  and  star  was 
revealed.  I  sprang  to  my  feet  and  cried  out,  "The 
Major,  boys!  Pull  away  ])ravely."  A  vociferous  shout- 
ing and  hurrahing  followed,  and  every  canoe  shot  forward 
at  racing  speed. 

About  200  yards  from  the  village  we  stopped  paddling, 
and  as  I  saw  a  great  number  of  strangers  on  the  shore, 
I  asked,  "  Wliose  men  are  you  ? "  "  We  are  Stanley's 
men/'  was   the   answer  delivered  in  mainland  Swahili. 


494  IN  DA  BREST  AFRICA. 

1888.     But  assured  by  this,  and  still  more  so  as  we  recognised 

Aug.  17.  ^  European   near   the    gate,   we  paddled  ashore.     The 

anaiyd.   j^^^.Qp^.^^  ^^j^  ^  nearer  view  turned  out  to  be  Mr.  William 

Bonny,  who  had  been   engaged  as  doctor's   assistant  to 

the  Expediti()n. 

Pressing  his  hand,  I  said, 

"  Well,  Bonny,  how  are  you  ?  Where  is  the  Major  ? 
Sick,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  The  Major  is  dead,  sir." 

"  Dead  ?     Good  God  !     How  dead  ?     Fever  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,  he  was  shot." 

*'  By  whom  1 " 

"  By  the  Manyuema — Tippu -Tib's  people." 

"  Good  heavens  !     Well,  where  is  Jameson  ? " 

"  At  Stanley  Falls." 

"  What  is  he  doing  there,  in  the  name  of  goodness  ?  " 

"  He  went  to  obtain  more  carriers." 

'•  Well  then,  where  is  Mr.  Ward,  or  Mr.  Troup  1  " 

•'  Mr.  Ward  is  at  Bangala." 

''  Banoala  !  Bansfala  !  what  can  he  be  doino;  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  he  is  at  Bangala,  and  Mr.  I'roup  has  been 
invalided  home  some  months  ago." 

These  queries,  rapidly  put  and  answered  as  w^e  stood 
by  the  gate  at  the  water  side,  prepared  me  to  hear  as 
deplorable  a  story  as  could  be  rendered  of  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  series  of  derangements  that  an  organized 
body  of  men  could  possibly  be  jjlunged  into. 

r)es])ite  Mr.  Bonny's  well  written  report  of  the  events 
wliicli  liad  f)C(nnTed,  it  was  many  days  before  I  could 
iiiid  liiiKi  to  study  and  understand  the  details.  The 
straiigcis  I  had  observed  belonged  to  Tippu-Tib,  and 
they  now  pressed  congratulations  upon  our  arrival,  and 
our  people  hurrying  in  through  the  narrow  gate  with 
Ihc  l);iggage  from  the  canoes,  bawling  out  recognition 
(<[  \\\v\v  fi-iei)ds,  leaping  witli  joy,  or  howling  with  grief, 
jiiade  l>aiial}'a  Camp  iiidps('ril)al)ly  tunmltuous. 

Let  us  iiiiaLiinc  (Ik;  baggage  stored  orderly,  the 
canoes  LisIkmI  to  st.ikcs  Jinnly  driven  in  tlic  l)nnk,  the 
conf-ratulatiojis  of  I  lie  straui'ers  over,  the  Zauzil)aris  of 
the    advance    coliinin    departed    frcmi     our    mimcdiate 


AT  LAST  I      THANK   GOD  f  497 

vicinity  to  seek  their  long-lost  friends  and  to  hear  the     1888. 
news,   the    Soudanese    and    Zanzil)ari  survivors  of   the  "^"^''  ^^' 
rear  column  havino;  uttered  their  fervid  thanks  that  we     ^"'^  ^^ 
had  at  last — at  last,  thank  God — come,  and  such  letters 
as  had  arrived  hastily  read,  despatches  hastily  written, 
sent  by  couriers   to    Stanley  Falls,  one  for   Tippu-Tib 
himself,  and  one  for  the  Committee  of  the  Relief  Fund, 
and  we  shall  be  at  lil)erty  to  proceed  with  the  story  of 
the  rear  column,  as  gathered  from  Mr.  Bonny's  reports 
oral    and    written,    and  from   the    surviving  Soudanese 
soldiers  and  Zanzil)aris,  and  we  shall  then  see  how  the 
facts  differed  or  agreed  with  our  anticipations. 

VOL.  L  G  G 


498  IN  DMIKE^T  AFL'JCA. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


ITIE   SAD    STORY    OF    THE    REAR    COLUMN. 

Tippu-Tilv— ]\Iajor  E.  M.  Barttelot— Mr.  J.  S.  Jameson— Mr.  Herbert 
Ward — Messrs.  Troup  and  Bonny — Major  Barttelot's  Report  on  tlie 
doings  of  the  rear  column — Conversation  with  Mr.  Bouny — Major 
Barttelofs  letter  to  Mr.  Bonny— Facts  gleaned  from  the  written 
narrative  of  Mr.  Wm.  Bonny — Mr.  Ward  detained  at  Bangala — 
Repeated  visits  of  the  Major  to  Stanley  Falls — Murder  of  Major 
Barttelot — Bonny's  account  of  the  murder — The  assassin  Sanga  is 
pimished  —  Jameson  dies  of  fever  at  Bangala  Station  —  Meeting  of 
the  advance  and  rear  columns — Dreadful  state  of  the  camp — Tippu- 
Tib  and  Major  Barttelot — Mr.  Jameson — Mr.  Herbert  Ward's  report. 

1888.     The    priiK'ipal    cliaracters    of   the    following    narrative 


Aug. 


are 


ana  ya.  YiTst.  Tippu-Tili,  alUis  Slieikli  Hamed  Inn  JMoliammed, 
a  man  who  is  a  native  of  the  East  Coast  of  Africa,  of  Arab 
descent.  He  has  thousands  of  men  under  his  command. 
He  is  a  renowned  slave  trader,  with  a  passion  for  extend- 
ing his  concjuests  and  traffics  in  i^'ory  and  slaves,  who, 
while  meditating  war  against  an  infant  State  lately 
created  in  Africa,  is  persuaded  to  agree  to  a  peace  pact, 
to  confine  his  destructive  raids  within  certain  limits,  and, 
finally,  to  lend  the  services  of  600  carriers  to  our  Expe- 
dition, wliich  is  (h^stined  for  the  rescue  of  a  worthy 
(governor  l>cleaguercd  by  many  enemies  at  the  north  end 
of  the  All)ert  Nyanza, 

AVliilc  exiiibiting  the  utmost  goodwill,  ungrudging 
liospitality,  and  exercising  numerous  small  kindnesses  to 
the  officers  of  the  Expedition,  he  c(3ntrives  to  delay  per- 
forming the  terms  of  his  solemn  contract,  and  months 
are  wasted  befoi'c;  he  niov(!S  to  take  the  necessary  steps 
for  accomplishing  his  duties.  Finally,  as  the  officers 
provoke   him    hy  consl.-inl.  ;iii(l    persistent  entreaties,  he 


THE  SAD   STOltY   OF   THE  HEAR    COLUMN. 


499 


1888. 
Aug. 


makes  a  journey  of  over  700  miles,  collects  the  carriers, 
and  after  eleven  months'  systematic  delay,  surrenders 
them  to  his  white  friends.  But  a  few  weeks  later  a  ^^"^'y*- 
catastrophe  occurs :  one  of  the  head-men  of  these 
carriers,  named  Sanga,  points  his  musket  at  the  princi- 
pal European  officer  in  charge,  and  shoots  him  dead. 


MAJOR    BAKTTELOT 


Second,  is  Major  Edmund  Musgrave  Barttelot,  a 
generous,  frank,  and  chivalrous  young  English  officer, 
distinguished  in  Afghanistan  and  on  the  Soudanese  Nile 
for  pluck  and  performance  of  duty.  His  rank  and  past 
experience  in  the  command  of  men  entitle  him  to  the 
appointment  of  commander  of  the  rear  column.     He  i? 


500  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  instructed  to  remain  at  Yambuya  until  tlie  arrival  of  a 
^^^'  certain  contingent  of  carriers  from  Bolobo,  in  the  charge 
anaya.  ^£  \XiYQe,  subordinate  officers,  Messrs.  Ward,  Troup,  and 
Bonny.  If  Tippu-Tib  has  arrived  previous  to  or  by 
that  date,  he  is  to  lose  no  time  in  following  the  track  of 
the  advance  column,  which  has  preceded  him  by  about 
seven  weeks.  If  Tippu-Tib  has  not  arrived  by  the  time 
the  Bolobo  contingent  has  reached  Yambuya,  he  is  to 
make  a  forward  move  by  slow  stages  with  his  own  force 
of  about  210  carriers,  making  repeated  trips  backwards 
and  forwards  until  all  the  essentials  are  removed  from 
camp  to  camp  ;  he  is  allowed  discretion  what  to  dispense 
with  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  march  ;  the  articles  arc 
mentioned  which  may  be  thrown  away.  He  declares  the 
instructions  to  be  clear  and  intelligible.  He  vows  that 
he  will  not  wait  longer  at  Yambuya  than  the  arrival  of 
the  Bolobo  people,  and  satisfies  us  all  that  in  him  we 
have  a  man  of  energy,  resolution,  and  action,  and  that 
there  is  no  need  of  anxiety  respecting  the  conduct  of 
the  rear  column.  In  every  letter  and  report  he 
appears  animated  l)y  the  utmost  loyalty  and  willing 
spirit. 

Third,  is  a  young  civilian  named  James  Sligo  Jameson, 
a  gentleman  of  w^ealth,  with  a  passion  for  natural  history 
studies,  who,  professing  a  fraternal  attachment  for  his 
friend  the  JMajor,  is  appointed  second  in  command  of  the 
rear  column.  It  is  reported  of  him,  that  "  his  alacrity, 
capacity,  and  willingness  to  work  are  unbounded  ";  what- 
soever his  fi-iend  the  Major  proposes  receives  the  ready 
sanction  of  Mr.  Jameson;  and  he  has  a  claim  (o  having 
much  expci'icncc  and  judgment  for  former  adventurous 
travels  in  Masliona  Land  and  Mata1)ele.  Barely  four 
weeks  after  the  assassination  of  his  friend  he  dies,  utterly 
woin  out  by  f(;ver  and  troul)le. 

I'liree  young  Englishmen  come  last,  who  are  attached 
to  the  Major's  staff,  two  of  whom,  Mr.  Herbert  Ward  and 
Mr.  Troup,  .•nc  to  be  associated  with  the  cxmnnander  and 
his  second  in  the  discussion  of  every  vital  step,  and  no 
important  decision  (;an  be  taken  unless  a  council  of  the 
four  has  been  <-(mv('ncd  to  consider  it  as  to  its  bearing 


HERBERT   WARD   AND   JOHN  ROSE   TROUP. 


501 


upon  tlie  enterprise  for  wliicli  tliey  liave  assembled  on 
the  verge  of  the  unknown  region  of  woods.  They  are 
therefore  implicated  in  the  conse(|uences  of  any  resolu- 
tion and  every  sequent  act.  They  are  not  boys  new 
from  school,  and  fresh  from  the  parental  care.  They  are 
mature  and  travelled  men.     Mr.  Herbert  Ward  has  seen 


18K8. 
Aug. 

Banalya. 


MB.   JAMESON. 


service  in  Borneo,  New  Zealand,  and  Congo  land ;  is  bright, 
intelligent  and  capable.  Mr.  John  Eose  Troup  has  also 
served  under  my  command  in  the  Congo  State,  and  has 
been  mentioned  in  my  record  of  the  founding  of  that 
State  as  an  industrious  and  zealous  officer.  Mr.  "William 
Bonny  has  seen  service  in  the  Zulu  and  Nile  campaigns, 


502  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     lias  lived  years   in  South  America,  and  appears  to  be 
"^"s-     a  staid  and  observing  man. 
lianaiya.       -^^^^    ^^^^^    -^    ^|_^^   inexplical>le    mystery.     We  have 

parted  from  them  while  warmly  and  even  affectionately 
attached  to  each  other.  We  have  plighted  our  words 
one  to  the  other.  "  Fear  not,"  say  they  ;  "  we  shall  be 
doing  and  striving,  cheerfully  and  loyally."  We  believe 
them,  and  hand  in  hand  we  pledge  ourselves, 

AVe  return  from  our  quest  of  Emin  Pasha,  and  ac- 
cording to  j\Iajor  Barttelot's  own  Report  (see  ApjDendix) 
we  learn  the  followins^  striking  facts  : — 

1st.  "  Rumour  is  always  rife,  and  is  seldom  correct, 
concerning  Mr.  Stanley.  He  is  not  dead  to  the  best  of 
my  belief.  I  have  been  obliged  to  open  Mr.  Stanley's 
boxes,  as  I  cannot  carry  all  his  stuff." 

He  sends  to  Bangala  all  ni}^  clothing,  maps,  and 
charts,  reserved  medicines  for  the  Expedition,  photo 
chemicals  and  reserve  negatives,  extra  springs  for  Win- 
chesters, Remingtons,  essentials  for  tents,  and  my  entire 
canteen.  He  reduces  me  to  absolute  nakedness.  I  am 
so  poor  as  to  l;)e  compelled  to  beg  a  pair  of  pants 
from  Mr.  Bonny,  cut  another  pair  from  an  old  white 
blanket  in  the  possession  of  a  deserter,  and  another  from 
a  curtain  in  my  tent.  But  Messrs.  Jameson,  Troup,  and 
Bonny  are  present,  concurring  and  assisting,  and  the 
two  last-named  receive  salaries,  and  both  present  their 
accounts  and  are  paid,  not  a  penny  deducted,  and  a 
liberal  largesse  besides  in  first-class  passages  home  is 
granted  to  them. 

2nd.  "  There  are  four  other  Soudanese  and  tw^enty- 
nine  Zjinzibaris  who  are  unable  to  proceed  with  us." 

"  Two  cases  of  Madeira  were  also  sent  him  (Mr. 
Stanley).  One  case  I  am  sending  back  " — that  is,  down 
the  Ccjiigo.  He  also  collects  a  choice  assortment  of  jams, 
sardines,  herrings,  wlieatcn  floui",  sago,  tapioca,  arrow- 
root, &c.,  and  sliips  tliem  on  l»<)ard  the  steamer  which 
takes  Mr.  Ti'ouj)  liomcward.  And  there  arc  thirty-three 
dying  men  in  cam]).  Wo  may  presume  that  the  other 
geiil  Iciiicii  (•((iiciiiicil  ill  t  liis  deed  also. 

or«l.    ■■  I    .shall   iiij  on    Lo  Wadclai,  and  ascertain  from 


QUOTATIONS  FliOM  MAJOR  BAllTTELOTS  DESPATCH.    503 

Emin  Pasha,  if  lie  be  there  still,  if  he  has  any  news     1888. 
of  Mr.   Stanley  ;  also  of  his  own  intentions  as  regards      *^"^' 
staying    or    leaving.       I    need    not    tell    you    that    all     ''"^'  ^*' 
our  endeavours  will    be  most  strenuous  to  make    the 
quest  in  which  we  are  going  a  success.     It  may  be  he 
only   needs   ammunition    to    get   away   by  himself,  in 
which  case  I  would  in  all  probability  be  able  to  supply 
him." 

On  the  14tli  of  August  Mr.  John  Rose  Troup  has 
delivered  over  to  Major  Barttelot  129  cases  Remington 
rifle  cartridges,  in  addition  to  the  twenty-nine  left  l)y  me 
at  Yambuya.  These  158  cases  contain  80,000  rounds. 
By  June  Otli  (see  Barttelot's  Report)  this  supply  has 
dwindled  down  to  35,580  rounds.  There  has  been  no 
marching,  no  fighting.  They  have  decreased  during  a 
camp  life  of  eleven  months  in  the  most  unaccountable 
manner.  There  arc  left  with  the  rear  column  only  sutii- 
cient  to  give  fifty  rounds  to  each  rifle  in  the  possession 
of  Emin  Pasha's  troops.  Half  of  the  gunpowder, 
and  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  bales  of  cloth, 
have  disappeared.  Though  Yambuya  originally  con- 
tained a  store  of  300,000  percussion-caps,  it  has 
been  found  necessary  to  purchase  £48  w^ortli  from 
Tippu-Tib. 

4th.  "  The  loads  we  do  not  take  are  to  be  sent  to 
Bangala.  They  will  be  loaded  (on  the  steamers)  on 
June  8th  (I888),  a  receipt  being  given  for  them  by 
Mr.  Van  Kerkhoven,  which  is  forwarded  to  you ; 
also  a  letter  of  instructions  to  him  and  to  Mr.  Ward. 
Perhaps  you  would  kindly  give  the  requisite  order 
concerning  the  loads  and  two  cances  purchased  for 
Mr.  Ward's  transport,  as  it  is  nearly  certain  I  shall  not 
return  that  way,  and  shall  have,  therefore,  no  further 
need  of  them  or  him."  (See  Appendix — Barttelot's 
Report). 

Mr.  Ward  has  been  despatched  down  river  to  telegraph 
to  the  Committee  for  instructions  ;  he  was  supposed  to 
bring  those  instructions  back  -from  the  sea  with  him. 
Here  we  are  told  the  Major  has  no  further  need  of  him. 
He  has  also  written  to  Captain  Win  Kerkhoven,  of  Ban- 


504  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888,  gala,  not  to  allow  him  to  a.sccnd  above  Bangala.  In  the 
^"^'  last  i3aranraph  of  Mr.  Jameson's  letter  to  Mr.  Bonny  I 
■'      note  a  reierence  to  this  ehange. 

5th.  Tlie  rear  column  consisted  of  271  souls  rank 
and  file  when  we  parted  from  Yambuya,  June  28th, 
1887. 

In  October,  1887,  this  force,  according  to  a  letter  from 
the  Major,  had  decreased  to  246  men. 

On  June  4th,  1888,  while  the  rear  column  lies  still  in 
the  same  camp  (see  the  Major's  Report)  it  has  diminished 
to  135  men  rank  and  file. 

On  August  17th,  1888,  I  demand  from  Mr.  William 
Bonnj,  who  is  in  sole  charge  at  that  date,  an  ofticial 
report  as  to  the  number  of  men  left  of  the  rear  column, 
and  he  presents  me  with  the  following : — 

"  List  of  Zanzibaris  left  by  ]\Ir.  Stanley  at  Bolobo  and 
Yambuya,  inclusive  of  eleven  men,  deserters,  picked  up 
from  advance  column  : — 

78  dead. 

26  deserted. 

10  with  My.  Jnnieson  (Bangala). 

2;t  lefL  sick  at  Yambuya. 

5  left  sick  on  road. 
75  present  at  Banalya,  August  17th,  1888. 

223 

Return  of  Soudanese  and  Somalis  and  Syrians  left  al 
Yambuya  :  — 

21  died. 

1  killed  1)y  natives. 

1  executed  by  order  of  Major  Barttelot. 

3  sent  down  Congo  to  Egypt, 

4  left  sick  at  Yambuya. 

1  sick  handed  over  to  care  of  Congo  State. 

22  i)rcsent  at  Banalya,  August  17th,  1888. 

53 
223 

270 

Return  of  Puitish  officers  left  by  ]\Ir.  Stanley  at 
Bolobo  and  Yambuya  : — 


1888. 


TEH  RIB  LE  MORTALITY.  505 

1  John  Kose  Troup,  invalided  liomc. 

1  Herbert  Ward,  sent  down  river  by  Major  Barttclot  Xiig." 

1  James  S.  Jameson,  proceeded  down  Congo.  b    ■  1  a 

1  Edmund  M.  Barttelot,  Major  (murdered).  '^"'^  ^ 

1  "William  Bonny,  present  at  I'aiialya,  August  i7tli,  lti88. 

5 
276 

281 
11  deserters  Irom  advaucu  column. 

270 

1  error. 

271 


Dead  and  lost. 

78  Zanzibaris  dead. 

29  left  sick  at  Yambuya. 

4  left  sick  at  Yambuya. 

5  left  sick  on  road. 
21  Soudanese  dead. 

1  killed  by  natives. 
1  executed. 

139 


6th.  The  steamer  Stanley  arrived  at  Yambuya  on  the 
14th  of  August,  within  a  few  days  of  the  date  mentioned 
in  the  Letter  of  Instructions.  On  the  I7th  she  departs 
to  her  port  at  Leopoldville,  and  has  severed  all  connec- 
tion with  the  Expedition.  The  officers  of  the  Congo 
State  have  liehaved  loyally  according  to  their  Sovereign's 
promise.  It  only  remains  now  for  the  rear  column  to 
pack  up  and  depart  slowly  but  steadily  along  our  track, 
Ijecause  Tippu-Tib  has  not  arrived,  and  according  to  the 
issue  anticipated  will  not  come. 

I  turn  to  Mr.  Bonny,  and  ask,  "  Were  you  not  all 
anxious  to  be  at  work  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Were  you  not  burning  to  ])e  off  from  Yambuya  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Were  you  all  equally  desirous  to  be  on  the  road  ? " 

"  I  believe  so.     Yes,  sir." 

"  AVell,  Mr.  Bonny,  tell  me — if  it  be  true  that  you 
were  all  burning,  eager,  and  anxious  to  be  ofi' — why  you 


506  IN  DAliKEST  AFlilCA. 

1888.     did  nut  devise  some  plan  better  tlian  travelling  back- 
^^s-     wards   and   forwards    between   Yambuya   and    Stanley 

Banalya.    p^lls  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,  sir.  I  was  not  the  chief, 
and  if  you  will  observe,  in  the  Letter  of  Instructions  you 
did  not  even  mention  my  name." 

"  That  is  very  true ;  I  ask  your  pardon  ;  but  you 
surely  did  not  remain  silent  because  1  omitted  to  men- 
tion your  name,  did  you — you  a  salaried  official  of  the 
Expedition  ? " 

"  No,  sir.     I  did  speak  often." 

"  Did  the  others  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir." 

I  have  never  obtained  further  light  from  Mr.  Bonny, 
though  at  every  leisure  hour  it  was  a  constant  theme. 

A  year  after  this  we  were  at  Usambiro,  south  of  the 
Victoria  Nyanza,  and  I  received  a  clipping  of  a  new^s- 
paper  wherein  there  was  a  copy  of  Major  Barttelot's 
letter  of  October,  1887.  There  was  a  portion  which 
said,  "  We  shall  be  obliged  to  stay  here  until  November." 
I  know  that  they  thought  they  were  obliged  to  remain 
until  June  11,  1888.  I  turn  to  Major  Barttelot's  letter 
of  June  4th,  1888  (see  Appendix),  wherein  he  says,  "I 
feel  it  my  bounden  duty  to  proceed  on  this  business,  in 
which  I  am  fully  upheld  by  both  Mr.  Jameson  and 
]\Ir.  Bonny ;  to  wait  longer  would  be  both  useless  and 
culpable,  as  Tipj)u-Tib  has  not  the  remotest  intention 
of  helping  us  any  more,  and  to  withdraw  would  be 
pusillanimous,  and,  I  am  certain,  entirely  contrary  to 
your  wishes  and  those  of  the  Committee." 

I  turned  to  my  Letter  of  Instructions,  and  I  find  in 
Paragraph  10  : 

*'  It  may  happen  tliat  thougli  Tippu-Tib  has  sent 
Bome  men,  he  has  not  sent  enough  to  carry  the  goods 
with  your  own  force.  In  that  case  you  will  of  course 
use  your  discretion  as  to  what  goods  you  can  dispense 
with,  to  enaltl(!  you  to  mai-i^li." 

Paragrapli  II.  "If  noii  still  caiiiiot  march,  then  it 
would  be  l)ettcr  to  make  marches  of  six  miles  twice  over, 
if  yon   pi'cfcr  niaidiing  to  staying  for  our  arrival,  than 


MAJOR   BARTTELOTS   SUCCESSOR.  507 

throw  too  many  things  away."     (See  Letter  of  Instruc-     I888. 
tions  in  a  preceding  chapter.)  ^"°' 

At  Usambiro  also  I  received  the  answer  which  the     ^^^^^' 
Committee  sent  in  reply  to  Mv.  Ward's  cablegram  from 
St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  asking  them  to  "  wire  advice  and 
opinion." 

To  Major  BavtteJot,  Care  Ward,  Conrjo. 
"  Committre  refer  you  to  Stanley's  orders  of  the  24^/i  June.     JJ  you  still 
cannot  march  in  accordance  with  thse  orders,  then  stay  where  you  are,  await- 
ing his  arrived,  or  until  you  receive  fresh  instructions  fro7n  Stanley." 

A  committee  6000  miles  away  penetrate  into  the 
spirit  of  the  instructions  instantly,  but  a  committee  of 
five  officers  at  Yambuya  do  not  appear  to  understand 
them,  though  they  have  been  drawn  up  on  the  clear 
understanding  that  each  officer  would  prefer  active 
movement  and  occupation  to  an  inactive  life  and  idle 
waiting  at  Yambuya. 

7th.  Mr.  William  Bonny,  whose  capacity  to  under- 
take serious  responsibilities  is  unknown  to  me,  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Letter  of  Instructions. 

On  my  return  to  Banalya,  Mr.  Bonny  hands  me  the 
following  order  written  by  Major  Barttelot. 

"  Yambuya  Camp, 

"  April  '^Ind,  1888. 

"  Sir, — In  event  of  my  death,  detention  of  Arabs,  absence  from  any 
cause  from  Yambuya  camp,  you  will  assume  charge  of  the  Soudanese  com- 
pany, the  Zanzibar  comj^any,  and  take  charge  of  the  stores,  sleeping  in 
the  house  where  they  are  placed.  All  orders  to  Zanzibaris,  Somalis,  and 
Soudanese  will  be  issued  by  you  and  to  them  only.  All  issues  of  cloth, 
matako  (brass  rods),  etc.,  will  be  at  your  discretion,  but  expenditure  of 
all  kinds  must  as  much  as  jiossible  be  kejDt  under.  Relief  to  Mr.  Stanley, 
eare  of  the  loads  and  men,  good  understanding  between  yourself  and  the 
Arabs  must  be  your  earnest  care ;  anything  or  anybody  attempting  to 
interfere  between  you  and  these  matters  must  be  instantly  removed. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir,  &c., 

"  Edmund  M.  Barttelot, 
"  Major." 

What  remains  for  the  faithful  Jameson,  "  whose 
alacrity,  capacity,  and  willingness  to  work  are  un- 
bounded," to  do  'I  AVhere  is  the  promising,  intelligent, 
and  capable  Ward?  What  position  remains  for  the 
methodical,  business-like,  and  zealous  Mr.  John  Rose 
Troup  ?     Mr.  Bonny  has  been  suddenly  elevated  to  the 


508  TN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.     commaud  of  the  rear  column  in  the  event  of  any  un- 

^"='     happy  accident  to  Major  Barttelot. 

ana  ya.       j^|^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^j_^^^  j  |^_^^|  bccome  insanc.     When 

I  alone  of  all  men  attempt  to  reconcile  these  inexplic- 
able contrarinesses  with  what  I  know  animated  each  and 
every  officer  of  the  rear  column,  I  find  that  all  tlie  wise 
editors  of  London  differ  from  me.  In  the  wonderful 
log-book  entries  I  read  noble  zeal,  indefatigable  labour, 
marches  and  counter-marches,  and  a  limitless  patience. 
In  the  Major's  official  report,  in  Mr.  Jameson's  last  sad 
letter  (see  Appendix),  I  discern  a  singleness  of  purpose, 
inflexible  resolve  and  the  true  fibre  of  loyalty,  tireless 
energy,  and  faith,  and  a  devotion  which  disdains  all  cal- 
culation of  cost.  When  I  came  to  compare  these  things 
one  with  another,  my  conclusion  was  that  the  officers 
at  Yambuya  had  manifestly  been  indifferent  to  the 
letter  of  instructions,  and  had  forgotten  their  promises. 
When  Mr.  Bonny  told  me  that  one  of  them  had  risen  at 
a  mess  meeting  to  propose  that  my  instructions  should 
be  cancelled,  and  that  the  ideas  of  Major  Barttelot 
should  be  carried  out  in  future — it  did  appear  to  me 
that  the  most  charitable  construction  that  could  be 
placed  upon  such  conduct  was  that  they  were  indifferent 
to  any  suggestions  which  had  been  drawn  out  purposely 
to  satisfy  their  own  oft-repeated  desire  of  "moving  on." 
But  how  I  wish  that  I  had  been  there  for  just  one 
hour  only  on  that  August  17th,  1887,  when  the  five 
officers  were  assembled — adrift  and  away,  finally  from 
all  touch  with  civilization — to  discuss  what  they  should 
do,  to  tell  tliem  that 

"  Joy's  Roi;l  lies  in  the  doing, 
And  the  rai)turo  of  pursuing 
Is  the  })rizo." 

To  remind  them  that 

'•  The  path  of  duty  is  the  way  to  glory." 

What  1  count  your  hundreds  of  loads !  What  are 
tlicy?  Look,  it  is  simply  this:  200  carriers  are  here 
to-day.  There  are  500  loads.  Hence  to  the  next  vil- 
lage is  ten   miles,      in   six   days  your   200   men   have 


THE  PATH    OF  DUTY.  500 

carried  the  500  loads  ten  miles.  In  four  months  you  isss. 
are  inland  al)out  150  miles.  In  eight  months  you  are  ^"^• 
300  miles  nearer  to  the  Nyanza,  and  long  before  that  ^^"^'^"^^^ 
time  you  have  lightened  your  laboui's  by  conveying 
most  of  your  burdens  in  canoes ;  you  will  have  heard 
all  about  that  advance  column  as  early  as  October,  the 
second  month  of  work  ;  for  powder  and  guns,  you  may 
get  Ugarrowwa's  flotilla  to  help  you,  and  by  the  time 
the  advance  column  starts  from  Fort  Bodo  to  hunt 
you  up,  you  will  l)e  safe  in  Ugarrowwa's  settlement,  and 
long  before  that  you  will  have  met  the  couriers  with 
charts  of  the  route  with  exact  information  of  what 
lies  before  you,  where  food  is  to  be  obtained,  and  every 
one  of  you  will  be  healthier  and  happier,  and  you  will 
have  the  satisfaction  of  having  performed  even  a  greater 
task  than  the  advance  column,  and  obtained  the 
"  kudos  "  which  you  desired.  The  bigger  the  work  the 
greater  the  joy  in  doing  it.  That  whole-hearted  striv- 
ing and  wrestling  with  Difficulty  ;  the  laying  hold  with 
firm  grip  and  level  head  and  calm  resolution  of  the 
monster,  and  tugging,  and  toiling,  and  w^restling  at  it,  to- 
day, to-morrow,  and  the  next  until  it  is  done ;  it  is  the 
soldier's  creed  of  forw^ard,  ever  forward — it  is  the  man's 
faith  that  for  this  task  was  he  born.  Don't  think  of 
the  morrow's  task,  but  what  you  have  to  do  to-day, 
and  go  at  it.  When  it  is  over,  rest  tranquilly,  and 
sleep  well. 

But  I  was  unable  to  be  present ;  I  could  only  rely  on 
their  promise  that  they  would  limit  their  faith  in  Tippu- 
Tib  until  the  concentration  of  all  officers  and  men 
attached  to  the  rear  column,  and  insist  that  the  blazing 
on  the  trees,  the  broad  arrow-heads  pointing  the  way, 
should  be  well  made  for  their  clear  guidance  through 
the  almost  endless  woods,  from  one  side  of  the  forest 
to  its  farthest  edge.  Yet  curiously  hungering  to  know 
why  Barttelot,  who  was  "  spoiling  for  work,"  and  Jame- 
son, who  was  so  earnest,  and  had  paid  a  thousand 
pounds  for  the  privilege  of  being  with  us,  and  Ward, 
who  I  thought  was  to  be  the  future  Clive  of  Africa,  and 
Troup,  so  noted  for  his  industry,  and  Bonny,  so  steady 


Banalva 


610  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

and  so  obedient,  so  unconsciously  acted  as  to  utterly 
Aug.  prevent  them  from  doing  what  I  believe  from  my  soul 
they  wished  to  do  as  much  as  I  or  any  other  of  us  did, 
a  conviction  flashes  upon  my  mind  that  there  has  been 
a  supernatural  malignant  influence  or  agency  at  work 
to  thwart  every  honest  intention. 

A  few  instances  will  tend  to  strengthen  this  con- 
viction. I  freely  and  heartily  admit  that  the  five 
officers  burned  to  leave  Yambuya,  and  to  assist  in  pro- 
secuting unto  successful  issue  the  unique  enterprise 
they  had  sacrificed  so  much  comfort  to  join.  But  they 
are  utterly  unable  to  move,  try  how  they  may.  They 
believe  I  am  alive,  and  they  vow  to  make  a  strenuous 
quest  for  me,  but  they  reduce  me  to  nakedness.  They 
are  determined  to  start  in  quest  and  relief  of  Emin 
Pasha,  because  "  to  withdraw  would  be  pusillanimous, 
and  to  stay  longer  would  be  culpable,"  and  yet  they 
part  with  the  necessary  ammunition  that  they  wish  to 
carry  to  him.  They  confess  that  there  are  thirty-three 
sick  men  unable  to  move  at  Yambuya,  and  yet  the  very 
stores,  medicaments,  and  wine  that  might  have  saved 
them  they  box  up  and  send  to  Bangala,  after  first 
obtaining  a  receipt  for  them.  They  have  all  signed 
agreements  wherein  each  officer  shall  have  a  fair  share 
of  all  European  preserved  provisions,  perfect  delicacies, 
and  yet  they  decline  to  eat  them,  or  allow  the  sick  men 
to  eat  them,  but  despatch  them  out  of  the  hungry 
woods  to  the  station  of  Bangala.  Mr.  Bonny,  as  I 
understand,  expressed  no  regret  or  audible  dissent  at 
tlieir  departure.  From  pure  habit  of  discipline  he 
refrained  from  demanding  his  fjxir  share,  and  like  a  good 
I^jiiglishman,  but  mighty  jioor  democrat,  he  j^arted  with 
his  inalienable  right  without  a  nuirmur.  They  searched 
for  Manyuema  slaves,  cannibals  of  tlie  IJakusu  and  Bason- 
gora  ti'ibes  to  replace  tlieir  dead  Zanzibaris  and  Sou- 
danese, Somalis  and  Syrians,  and  it  came  to  pass  a  few 
weeks  after  tliey  had  obtained  tliesc;  cannibals  that  one 
of  tlieir  head  men  assassinates  the  hjiigbsh  commander. 
Also  on  a  f";il;tl  <l;ilc,  Inlal  Ix'canse  that  resolntion  to 
wait  seal(;(l  llicir  r;il('.  .in  ollii-ci-  of    (he  ad\'ance  cohinui 


Baniilya. 


A    SUPERNATURAL   INFLUENCE.  .511 

was  straying  througli  an  impenetrable  bush  with  300  1888, 
despairing  men  behind  him,  and  on  this  fatal  date  the  ^"^' 
next  year,  Mr.  Bonny,  the  sole  survivor  of  the  English 
band,  pours  into  my  ears  a  terrible  tale  of  death  and 
disaster,  while  at  the  same  hour  poor  Jameson  breathes 
his  last,  tired  and  worn  out  with  his  futile  struggles  to 
"  move  on  "  at  Bangala,  500  miles  west  of  me  ;  and 
600  miles  east  of  me,  the  next  day,  Emin  Pasha  and 
Mr.  Jephson  walk  into  the  arms  of  the  rebel  soldiery 
of  Equatoria. 

This  is  all  very  uncanny  if  you  think  of  it.  There  is 
a  supernatural  diahlerie  operating  which  surpasses  the 
conception  and  attainment  of  a  mortal  man. 

In  addition  to  all  these  mischiefs  a  vast  crop  of  lying 
is  germinated  in  these  darksome  shades  in  the  vicinity 
of  Stanley  Falls,  or  along  the  course  of  the  Upper 
Cono;o,  showiner  a  measureless  cunnino;,  and  an  in- 
satiable  love  of  horror.  My  own  murder  appears  to  be 
a  favourite  theme,  quantities  of  human  bones  are  said  to 
be  discovered  by  some  reconnoitring  party,  human 
limbs  are  said  to  be  found  in  cooking-pots,  sketches  by 
an  amateur  artist  are  reported  to  have  been  made  of 
whole  ftimilies  indulging  in  cannibal  repasts  ;  it  is  more 
than  hinted  that  Englishmen  are  implicated  in  raids, 
murder,  and  cannibalism,  that  they  have  been  making 
targets  of  native  fugitives  while  swimmina;  in  the 
Aruwimi,  all  for  the  mere  sake  of  infusing  terror,  alarm, 
and  grief  among  cpiiet  English  people,  and  to  plague 
our  friends  at  home. 

The  instruments  this  dark  power  elects  for  the  dis- 
semination of  these  calumnious  fables  are  as  various  in 
their  professions  as  in  their  nationality.  It  is  a  deserter 
one  day,  and  the  next  it  is  an  engineer  of  a  steamer ;  it 
is  now  a  slave-trader,  or  a  slave ;  it  is  a  guileless  mis- 
sionary in  search  of  w^ork,  or  a  dismissed  Syrian  ;  it  is  a 
young  artist  with  morbid  tastes,  or  it  is  an  officer  of 
the  Congo  Free  State.  Each  in  his  turn  becomes  pos- 
sessed with  an  insane  desire  to  say  or  write  something 
which  overwhelms  common  sense,  and  exceeds  ordinary 
belief. 


Banalva, 


512  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  From  the  official  written    narrative  of   Mr.  William 

'^"^-     Bonny  I  glean  the  following,  and  array  the  facts   in 
clear  order. 

The  Stanley  steamer  has  departed  from  Yambuya 
early  in  the  morning  of  August  17th,  1887.  The  goods 
she  has  brought  up  are  stored  within  the  magazine, 
and  as  near  as  I  can  oatlier  there  are  266  men  within 
the  entrenched  camp.  As  they  are  said  to  have  met 
to  deliberate  upon  their  future  steps  we  may  assume 
that  the  letter  of  instructions  was  read,  and  that  they 
did  not  understand  them.  They  think  the  wisest  plan 
would  be  to  await  Tippu-Tib,  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  promised  to  Major  Barttelot  that  he  would  be 
after  him  within  nine  days. 

On  this  day  the  officers  heard  firing  across  the  river 
almost  opposite  to  Yambuya.  Through  their  binoculars 
they  see  the  aborigines  chased  into  the  river  by  men 
dressed  in  wdiite  clothes,  who  are  shooting  at  them  from 
the  north  or  rioht  bank.  Conceiving;  that  the 
marauders  must  be  some  of  Tippu-Tib's  men,  they 
resolve  upon  electing  an  officer  and  a  few  men  to 
interview  them,  and  to  cease  from  molesting  the  natives 
who  have  long  ago  become  friendly  and  are  under  their 
protection.  The  officer  goes  across,  finds  their  camp, 
and  invites  Alxlallah,  their  chief,  to  visit  the  English 
commander  of  Yambuya.  The  Major  thus  learns  that 
these  marauders  really  belong  to  Tippu-Tib,  and  that 
Stanley  Falls  is  but  six  days'  march  overland  from 
Yam})uya.  Probably  believing  that,  after  all,  Tippu-Tib 
may  })e  j)ei'snaded  to  assist  the  Expedition,  he  inquires 
for  and  obtains  guides  to  condiK-t  some  of  his  party  to 
Staidey  Falls,  to  speak  and  treat  in  liis  l)elialf  with  that 
cliicftaiii  whom  we  have  conveyed  ii'om  Zanzil)ar  to 
Staidey  Falls,  witli  free  rations  in  consideraticm  of  the 
help  he  had  solemnly  contracted  to  furnisli. 

On  August  21),  Mr.  Ward  returns  fi'om  the  Falls  with 
a  r('j)ly  from  Tippu-Tib,  wlierein  he  promises  that  he 
will  coll(H't  tlie  can-iers  needed  and  send  them  within  ten 
days.  The  first  promise  in  .lime  was  '' in  nine  days  "  ; 
the  promise   is  in    August  "in   ten  days."     A  few  days 


MARCHES,   AND    COUNTER-MARCTTES.  513 

later  Mr.  Jameson  returns  from  Stanley  Falls  in  company     1888. 
of  Salim  bin  Mohammed,  a  nephew  of  Tippu-Tib,  and  a      ^'^^' 
large  party  of  Manyuema.     This  party  is  reported  to     *°*y''^ 
be  tlie  vanguard  of  the  carrier  contingent,  which  Tippu- 
Tib  will  shortly  bring  in  person. 

In  the  interval  of  waiting  for  him,  however,  trouble 
breaks  out  on  the  Lumami,  and  Tippu-Tib  is  obliged  to 
hurry  to  the  scene  to  settle  it.  The  Yamljuya  garrison, 
however,  are  daily  expecting  his  presence. 

Unable  to  bear  the  suspense,  the  second  visit  to 
Stanley  Falls  is  undertaken,  this  time  by  Major  Barttelot 
in  person.  It  is  the  1st  of  October.  Salim  bin  Mo- 
hammed accompanied  him,  and  also  Mr.  Troup.  On 
the  way  thither  they  met  Tippu-Tib  advancing  towards 
Yambuya,  having  six  deserters  from  the  advance  column, 
each  bearing  a  weighty  tusk.  The  Major  graciously 
remits  the  six  ivory  tusks  to  the  Arab  chief,  and,  as 
they  must  have  a  palaver,  they  go  together  to  Stanley 
Falls. 

After  one  month  the  Major  returns  to  his  camp,  on 
the  Aruwimi,  and  states  that  Tippu-Tib,  unable  to 
muster  600  carriers  in  the  Stanley  Falls  region,  is 
obliged  to  proceed  to  Kasongo,  about  350  miles  above 
Stanley  Falls,  and  that  this  journey  of  about  700  miles 
(to  Kasongo  and  back)  will  occupy  forty-two  days. 

Meantime,  twenty  of  the  Major's  own  people  have 
been  buried  outside  the  camp. 

The  English  commander  learns  that  during  his  ab- 
sence, Majato,  a  head  man  of  the  Manyuema,  has  been 
behaving  "  badly,"  that  he  has  been,  in  fact,  intimidating 
the  natives  who  marketed  with  the  garrison,  with  the 
view  of  starving  the  soldiers  and  Zanzibaris,  or  reaping 
some  gain  by  acting  as  the  middleman  or  factor  in  the 
exchange  of  goods  for  produce.  Hearing  these  things, 
the  Major  naturally  becomes  indignant,  and  forthwith 
despatches  Mr.  Ward,  who  makes  the  third  visit  to  the 
Falls  to  complain  of  the  arbitrary  conduct  of  Majato. 
The  complaint  is  effective,  and  Majato  is  immediately 
withdrawn. 

In   the   beginning    of   1888,    Salim  bin    Mohammed 

VOL.    I.  H    H 


514  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  arrives  at  Yambuya  for  the  second  time,  and  presently 
^^"S-  becomes  so  active  in  enforcing  certain  measures  against 
Baiuiiya.  ^|^^  nativcs  that  the  food  supply  of  the  camp  is  wholly 
cut  off  and  never  renewed.  He  also  commences  the 
construction  of  a  permanent  camp  of  substantial  mud- 
built  huts,  at  half  a  bow-shot's  distance  from  the  pali- 
sades of  Yambuya,  and  completely  invests  the  fort  on 
the  land  side,  as  though  he  were  preparing  for  a  siege 
of  the  place. 

After  a  futile  effort  to  bribe  Salim  with  the  offer  of  a 
thousand  pounds  to  lead  a  Manyuema  contingent  to 
follow  the  track  of  the  advance  column,  Major  Barttelot 
and  Mr.  Jameson,  about  the  middle  of  February,  under- 
take the  fourth  visit  to  Stanley  Falls.  Salim,  fearing 
unfavourable  accounts  of  his  behaviour,  accompanies  them 
en  route ;  the  party  meet  250  Manyuema,  but  as  they 
have  no  written  instructions  with  them,  they  are  per- 
mitted to  scatter  over  the  country  in  search  of  ivory. 

In  March  Salim  returns  to  Yambuya,  and  intimates 
to  the  officers  that  no  doubt  the  carriers  w^ould  be  ulti- 
mately forthcoming,  not  however  for  the  purpose  of 
following  Mr.  Stanley's  track,  but  to  proceed  via  Ujiji 
and  Unyoro  ;  a  mere  haziness  of  geography  ! 

On  the  25th  of  March,  Major  Barttlelob  returns  to  the 
camp  with  information  that  JMr.  Jameson,  the  inde- 
fatiga])le  Jameson,  has  proceeded  up  river  in  the 
track  of  Tippu-Til)  with  the  intention  of  reaching  Ka- 
songo.  He  also  announces  his  intention  of  forming  a 
flying  column,  and  leaving  the  larger  part  of  his  goods  at 
Stanley  Falls  in  charge  of  an  officer  !  He  also  prepares 
a  telegram  to  the  committee  in  London  wliich  is  as 
follows  : — 

"  St.  Tanl  do.  Loanda, 

"  l.s/  May,  1888. 

"  No  news  of  Rtanlny  since  writiiip;  last  Octoltor.  Tippn-Tib  wont  to 
Kasoiiffo,  Nov.  Kitli,  l»Mt  u))  to  Marcli  lias  only  j^ot  us  L'5()  nion.  More  arc 
ooniiii}^,  hut  uncorlain  in  nuinhor,  and  as  prooaiition,  jiresnminc;  Stanley 
in  tii)nl)lc  (it  wonlil)  lu;  al)sni-il  in  mo  to  start  with  loss  nnnihor  than  he 
did,  wliilo  carrymf^  iiutro  loads — minus  Maxim  f^un.  Thorefore  I  have 
Bent  Jamoson  to  Kasonjj-o  1o  hasten  Tippu-Tih  in  royard  <o  originally 
propo.sed  iiuniher  of  (KK)  men,  !i,nd  fo  obtain  as  many  tiuhtinti;  men  as 
j)0.sHiblo  up    to   400.    also  io  make  as  a(lvanfa<^oous    terms  us    he   cau 


A   DESPATCH  FROM    YAMBUTA.  615 

regarding  service,  and  payment  of  men,  he  and  I  gnaranteeing  money      jggg 
in  name  of  Expedition,     .lamcson  will  return  al)()ut  the  14th,  but  earliest      ^ug' 
day  to  start  will  be  June  1st,  when  I  propose  leaving  an  officer  witli  all    „,     ,' 
loads  not  absolutely    wanted   at    Stanley    Falls.      Ward   carries   this         °  ^^ 
message ;   please  obtain  wire   from   the   King  of  the   Belgians  to  the 
Administrator  of  the  Free  State  to  place  carriers  at  his  disposal,  and 
have  steamers  in  readiness  to  convey  him  to  Yambuya.     If  men  come 
before  his  arrival  I  shall  start  without  him.     He  should  return  about 
July  1st.     Wire  advice  and  opinion.     Officers  all  well.     Ward  awaits 
reply. 

"  Barttelot." 

Mr.  Ward  proceeded  down  the  Congo,  and  in  an  un- 
precedentedly  short  time  reached  the  sea-board,  cabled 
his  despatch,  received  the  following  reply,  and  started 
up  the  Congo  again  for  the  Yambuya  camp. 

"  Major  Barttelot,  care  Ward,  Congo. 

"  Committee  refer  you  to  Stanley's  orders  of  the  24th  June,  1887.  If 
you  still  cannot  march  in  accordance  with  these  orders,  then  stay  where 
you  are,  awaiting  his  arrival  or  until  you  receive  fresh  instructions  from 
Stanley.  Committee  do  not  authorise  the  engagement  of  fighting  men. 
News  has  been  received  from  Emin  Pasha  via  Zanzibar,  dated  Wadelai, 
November  2iid.  Stanley  was  not  then  heard  of:  Emin  Pasha  is  well  and 
in  no  immediate  want  of  supplies,  and  goes  to  south-west  of  lake  to  watch 
for  Stanley.     Letters  have  been  posted  regularly  ala  East  Coast. 

"  Chairman  of  Committee." 

Mr.  AVard  on  arriving  at  Bangala  is  detained  there  by 
order. 

The  Committee  have  made  a  slight  mistake  in  calling 
my  letter  of  instructions  "  orders."  The  instructions 
are  not  exactly  "  orders."  They  are  suggestions  or 
advices  tendered  by  the  Commander  of  the  Expedition 
to  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  rear  column,  which  he 
may  follow  or  reject  at  his  own  discretion.  Major 
Barttelot  has  expressed  an  impatient  desire  to  be  of 
active  service  to  the  Expedition.  He  declares  that  it  is 
his  dearest  wish  to  leave  Yambuya  to  follow  on  our 
track.  The  Commander  of  the  Expedition,  strongly 
sympathising  with  the  impetuous  young  officer,  writes 
out  a  series  of  suggestions  by  which  his  desire  may  be 
realised,  and  gives  him  further  a  pencilled  estimate  (see 
Appendix)  by  what  manner  the  forward  advance  after 
us  may  be  done.  The  Major  earnestly  promises  to  con- 
form to  these  suggestions,  and  the  parting  between  him 
and  myself  is  on  this  understanding.     But  they  are  not 


516  IN  DARKEST  AFEICA. 

1888.     positive  "  orders,"  as  a  man's  epitaph  can  best  be  written 

^"^-     after  his  death,  so  the  measure  of  "  kudos  "  to  be  given 

Banaiya.  ^  ^^^^  -^  j^^^^  kuown  after  the  value  of  his  services  has 

been  ascertained. 

At  the  end  of  March  the  Major  is  on  bad  terms  with 
Salim  bin  Mohammed,  wliich  compels  him  to  make  a 
fifth  visit  to  Stanley  Falls  to  obtain  his  removal. 

About  the  middle  of  April  Major  Barttelot  returns  to 
his  camp,  and  Salim  has  orders  to  quit  Yambuya.  In- 
stead, however,  of  proceeding  to  Stanley  Falls,  he  pro- 
poses a  raid  upon  a  large  village  below  Yambuya,  but 
in  a  few  days  he  reappears,  stating  that  he  has  heard  a 
rumour  that  the  advance  column  is  descending  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Aruwimi. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1888,  the  Major  proceeds  to 
make  a  sixth  visit  to  Stanley  Falls,  and  on  the  22nd  of 
the  month  makes  his  reappearance  with  the  indefatigable 
Jameson  and  a  large  party  of  Manyuema.  Three  days 
later  the  procrastinating  Tippu-Tib,  who,  on  the  18tli  of 
June,  1887,  said  that  he  would  be  at  Yambuya  within 
nine  days,  and  in  August  within  ten  days,  arrives  by 
steamer  A.  LA.  The  Stanley  also  steams  up  to  deliver 
letters  for  the  expedition. 

As  Tippu-Tib  suggested  that  the  loads  60lbs.  weight 
were  too  heavy  for  his  people,  the  officers  were  obliged 
to  reduce  them  to  40,  30,  and  20lb.  weights,  to  suit  his 
views.  This  was  no  light  task,  but  it  had  to  be  per- 
formed. As  an  advance  payment,  Mr.  Bonny  relates 
that  forty-seven  bales  of  cloth,  a  vast  store  of  powder 
and  fixed  ammunition  are  delivered,  and  £128  worth  of 
stores  are  given  to  ]\Iuini  Sumai,  tlie  liead  man  of  the 
Manyuema  battalicjn.  The  European  provisions  are  then 
ovcrhauljcd,  and  such  articles  as  Madeira  wine,  jams, 
sago,  ta])i()ca,  arrowroot,  sardines,  licnings,  and  wheat 
fiour  are  boxed  up,  and  with  eight  l)()xcs  of  my  baggage 
are  sliipped  on  l)oard  tlie  steamer  for  l^);ingala  as  un- 
necessary and  superfluous,  in  tlie  same  vessel  on  whicli 
Mr.  Troup  is  an  invalid  passenger  bound  home. 

Finally,  on  tlic  11th  of  June,  1888,  after  weeding 
out  twcnly-jjine  Zanzibaris  and  four  Soudanese  who  are 


TWELVE  EUNDRED  MILES   OF  MARGlItNG.         517 

too   feeble   to   work,    Messrs.    Barttelot,  Jameson,  and     isss. 
Bonny  leave  the  camp  they  should  have  left  not  later     "^"s- 
than   the  25th   of  August,    1887,  with  a  following  of  ^'"'^^*- 
Zanzi})aris,   Soudanese,  Somalis,  and  Manyuema,  aggre- 
gating nearly  900  men,  women,  and  children,  with  the 
intention  of  making  tliat  "strenuous  quest"  for  the  lose 
Commander  and  to  relieve  Emin  Pasha, 

These  six  visits  to  Stanley  Falls  wliich  the  Major  and 
his  friends  have  made  amount  in  the  ao-o-regate  to  1200 
English  miles  of  marching.  The  untiring  Major  has 
personally  travelled  800  miles,  while  Jameson  has  per- 
formed 1200  miles.  If  only  these  1200  miles  had  been 
travelled  between  Yambuya  and  the  Albert,  the  rear 
column  would  have  reached  Panga  Falls.  Even  by 
travelling  sixty  miles,  to  gain  a  direct  advance  of  ten 
miles,  they  would  have  been  cheered  and  encouraged  by 
our  letters  and  charts  to  press  on  to  Avejeli  to  recupe- 
rate among  the  abundant  plantains  of  that  rich  and 
populous  settlement. 

But  while  the  Major  and  his  officers  w^ere  endeavour- 
ing to  stimulate  an  unwilling  man  to  perform  his  con- 
tract with  forty-five  guinea  rifles,  Remington  rifles, 
ivory-liandled  revolvers  and  ammunition,  with  many  a 
fair  l)ale  of  cloth,  their  own  faithful  men  were  dying  at 
a  frightful  rate.  Out  of  the  original  roll  of  271,  there 
are  only  132  left  of  rank  and  file,  and  out  of  these  132 
by  the  time  they  have  arrived  at  Banalya  there  are  only 
101  remaining,  and  nearly  a  half  of  these  are  so  wasted 
by  famine  and  disease  that  there  is  no  hope  of  life  in 
them. 

Thirteen  days  after  the  departure  of  the  horde  of 
Manyuema  and  the  ansemic  Zanzibaris  from  the  fatal 
camp  of  Yambuya,  the  Major  undertakes  a  seventh  visit 
to  Stanley  Falls,  and  leaves  the  column  to  struggle  on 
its  way  to  Banalya  without  him.  On  the  forty-third 
day  of  the  march  of  ninety  miles  the  van  of  the  rear 
column  enters  the  palisaded  village  of  Banalya,  which 
has  become  in  my  absence  a  station  of  Tippu -Tib's  in 
charge  of  an  Arab  called  Abdallah  Karoni,  and  on  the 
same  day  the  restless  and  enterprising  Major  enters  it 


518  li^  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

i88«.  on  his  return  from  Stanley  Falls.  On  the  next  day 
-"^"g-  some  misunderstanding  takes  place  between  him  and 
Bauaiya.  ^|^g  chief  Abdallah  Karoni.  The  Major  storms  at  him, 
and  threatens  to  start  to  Stanley  Falls  for  the  eighth 
visit  on  the  20th  of  July  to  complain  of  his  conduct 
to  Tippu-Tib  ;  but  at  dawn  on  the  19th  of  July  the 
unfortunate  commander  is  shot  through  the  heart  by 
the  assassin  Sanga. 

I  will  permit  Mr.  AVilliam  Bonny's  official  report  to 
detail  what  occurred  in  a  revised  form. 

"  18^//  Jnlii,  1888. — The  Major  continued  to  threaten  Ahdalla  that  if  he 
did  not  get  tlie  carriers  promised  by  Tippn-Tib  he  woukl  return  to  Stanley- 
Falls  on  the  20th,  and  he  ordered  the  Arab  to  accompany  him.  The 
Major  informed  me  he  would  be  back  on  the  9th  of  August,  but  before 
concluding  his  remarks,  he  asked  me,  '  Don't  you  think  I  am  doing  the 
correct  tiling  by  going  to  Stanley  Falls  ?  '  I  answered,  '  No,  I  don't  see 
why  you  want  sixty  more  men ;  you  have  men  enough  and  to  spare ! 
You  had  better  issue  the  rifles  and  ammunition  to  the  men,  and  that 
will  reduce  tlie  number  of  our  burdens  by  fifteen,  and  trust  the  men. 
Mr.  Stanley  is  obliged  to  trust  the  men.  If  they  run  away  from  you,  they 
run  away  from  him,  but  if  you  leave  them  in  my  hands  I  don't  think 
they  will  run.'  The  Major  said,  '  I  intend  that  you  shall  have  command 
of  the  Zanzibaris  and  Soudanese  from  here,  and  you  shall  precede  the 
Manyuema  a  day's  march.  Mr.  Jameson  and  I  will  march  with  the 
Manyuenia  and  get  them  into  some  order,  and  see  they  do  not  mix  up 
with  your  ]ieople.  I  don't  want  to  go  to  the  Falls,  but  I  want  you  to  try 
to  get  some  tew  men.  If  you  only  get  me  twenty  I  shall  lie  satisfied. 
I  asked  Alulallah  if  he  could  let  me  have  a  few  carriers.  I  obtained 
seven ' 

"  YMh  Jail/. — Early  this  morning  a  Manyuema  woman  commenced 
beating  a  drum  and  singing.  It  is  their  daily  custom.  The  Major  sent 
his  boy  Soudi,  who  was  only  about  thirteen  years  old,  to  stop  them,  but 
at  once  loud  and  angry  voices  were  heard,  followed  by  two  sliots  by  way 
of  defiance.  The  Major  ordered  some  Soudanese  to  go  and  find  the  men 
who  Avere  firing,  at  the  same  time  getting  u])  from  bed  himself  and 
taking  liis  revolvers  from  tlie  case.  He  said, '  I  will  shoot  the  first  man 
I  catch  firing.'  I  told  him  not  to  interfere  with  the  people's  daily 
custom,  to  remain  inside,  and  not  go  out,  inasmuch  as  they  would  soon 
be  quiet,  lie  went  out  revolver  in  hand  to  where  the  Soudanese  were. 
They  told  him  that  they  could  not  find  the  men  who  were  firing.  The 
Major  then  ))uslied  aside  some  Manyuenia  and  passed  through  them  to- 
wards the  woman  who  was  beating  the  drum  and  singing,  and  ordered 
her  to  desist.  Just  then  a  shot  was  fired  through  a  l(io]ilioIe,  in  an 
opposite  hut  from  within,  by  Sanga,  the  woman's  husband.  The  charge 
penc.trat(;d  just  below  tlie  r(>gioii  of  the  heart  and  passed  out  behind, 
lodging  finally  in  ai)art  of  the  verandah  under  which  the  Major  fell  dead. 

"  Tiie  SoudaiKise  ran  away,  and  refused  to  follow  me  to  get  the  Major's 
body;  hut  I  went,  and  was  fc^llowed  by  one  Somali,  and  one  Soudanese, 
wlio'  witii  myself  carried  the  body  to  my  iiousc;.  From  the  screaming  I 
thought  a  general  massacre  had  conniuMiced,  for  1  had  not  seen  a  single 
Zanzil)ari.  They  wore  cither  hiding  within  their  houses  or  joining  in  the 
general  htumpedo  that  followed.     1  now  turned  and  saw  one  of  the  head- 


MR.   SONNY'S   liEPORT,  519 

men  of  the  Maiiynema,  who  with  rifle  and  rcTolvcr  in  hand  was  leading  a  iggg. 
body  of  sixty  of  his  people  to  attack  me.  I  had  no  arms.  I  walked  up  Aug.* 
to  him  and  asked  him  if  he  was  leading  his  men  to  figlit  me.  He  replied  ^.^^  | 
'  No.'  I  said,  '  Then  take  your  men  quietly  to  their  houses  and  hriii}^  all  '*  *  ■  '" 
the  headmen  to  me,  foi-  I  wish  to  speak  to  them.'  Some  headmen  shortly 
afterwards  made  their  appearance,  and  I  said  to  them,  '  The  tremble  is 
not  mine,  but  Tippn-Tib's.  I  want  you  to  lu-iiii;-  me  all  the  loads,  and  tell 
all  your  fellows  to  do  the  same.  Tippu-Tib  knows  what  each  of  you  has  in 
charge  and  is  responsible  for  them.  This  is  Tippu-Tib's  trouble.  Tipjai- 
Tib  will  have  to  pay  up  if  the  goods  aie  lost,  and  will  punish  the  head- 
man who  causes  him  a  loss.  I  shall  write  to  him,  and  he  will  come  here, 
and  he  shall  know  the  name  of  him  who  refuses  to  do  what  I  now  wish.' 
This  lesulted  in  my  getting  back  to  the  storeroom  about  150  loads.  I 
now  sent  my  men  to  collect  what  goods  they  could,  and  before  long  I 
recovered  2^9  porter  loads.  They  had  been  scattered  all  over  the  place, 
some  in  the  forest,  in  the  rice  field,  and  in  the  village  huts  hidden  away 
within  and  without,  in  fact  everywhere.  Some  of  the  bead  sacks  and 
ammunition  boxes  had  already  been  ripped  or  broken  open,  and  the 
whole  of  their  contents,  or  in  part,  gone.  After  counting  up  I  found  I 
was  forty-eight  loads  short.  The  inhabitants  of  the  village  numbered 
about  200  or  300  people.  I  had  arrived  with  about  100  men ;  Muni 
Sumai,  the  chief  headman  of  the  Manynema,  with  430  carriers  and 
aboui  200  followers,  making  a  total  of  about  1000  people,  of  whom  iiOO 
were  cannibals,  all  confined  within  an  area  160  yards  by  25  yards.  You 
can  therefore  better  judge  than  I  can  describe  the  scene  when  the  general 
stampede  commenced,  the  screaming,  firing,  shouting,  looting  our  stores, 
&c.,  &c.  I  regret  to  say  that  the  Soudanese  and  Zanzibaris  without 
exception  joined  in  the  looting,  but  in  my  turn  I  raided  their  houses  and 
haunts  and  captured  a  quantity  of  cloth,  beads,  rice,  &c.  I  had  to 
j)unisli  severely  before  I  succeeded  in  stopping  it.  I  now  wrote  to  Mr. 
Jameson,  who  was  about  four  days  off  bringing  np  the  remaining  loads. 
I  also  wrote  to  Mons.  Baert,  a  Congo  State  officer,  and  secretary  to  Tippu- 
Tib  at  Stanley  Falls,  explaining  what  had  taken  place,  how  I  was 
situated,  and  asking  him  to  use  all  his  tact  with  Tippn-Tib  to  get  him  to 
come  here  or  send  some  chief  to  replace  IMtiini  Sumai,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  first  to  abscond.  I  told  Mons.  Baert  to  tell  Tippu-Tib  that  all 
Europe  wonld  blame  him  if  he  did  not  assist  ns.  I  then  buried  the 
Major,  after  sewing  the  body  np  in  a  blanket.  I  dug  a  grave  just  within 
the  forest,  placing  leaves  as  a  cushion  at  the  bottom  of  the  grave,  and 
covered  the  body  with  the  same.  I  then  read  the  church  service  from  our 
Prayer-Book  over  the  body,  and  this  brought  the  terrible  day  to  a  close. 

"  The  Major  wrote  and  handed  me  the  official  order  a])pointing  me  in 
command  of  the  Zanzibari  and  Soudanese  when  the  camjD  at  Yambuya 
was  in  great  danger,  and  his  own  life  especially.  I  therefore  take  com- 
mand of  this  Second  Column  of  the  Emin  Pasha  Pielief  Expedition  until 
I  see  Ml".  Stanley  or  return  to  the  coast. 

"  It  shall  be  my  constant  care  under  God's  help  to  make  it  more 
successful  than  heretofore.  Mr.  Jameson  will  occupy  the  same  position 
as  shown  in  Mr.  Stanley's  instructions  to  Major  Barttelot  on  his  going  to 
Stanley  Falls  to  settle  with  Tippu-Tib  for  another  headman  of  the 
Manyuema  He  has  free  hands,  believing  himself  to  be  in  command.  I 
did  not  undeceive  him.  On  his  return  here  I  will  show  him  the  docu- 
ment, a  copy  of  which  I  have  given  above. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir, 
"&c.,  &c., 

"  To  H.  M.  Stanley,  Esq.,  "  Wim-iam  Bonnv. 

"  Commander  E.P.R.E." 


520  m  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  Three  days  after  the  tragedy  Mr,  Jameson  appears  at 
^'^^-  Banalya  with  the  rear  guard  of  the  rear  column,  and 
''"'^^''''  assumes  command;  but  on  the  25th  of  July,  after 
leaving  words  of  encouragement  to  Mr.  Bonny,  he 
undertakes  the  eighth  visit  to  Stanley  Falls  in  the  hope 
that  by  making  liberal  offers  of  gold  to  satisfy  the  avari- 
cious Tippu-Tib  he  may  induce  him  either  to  head  the 
Rear  Column  himself,  or  send  one  of  his  fiery  nephews 
in  his  place — Salim  bin  Mohammed,  or  Rashid,  who 
assaulted  and  captured  Stanley  Falls  from  Captain 
Deane. 

On  August  12th  he  writes  his  last  letter  (see  Appen- 
dix) to  Mr.  Bonny,  and  begins  it,  "  The  Expedition  is  at 
a  very  low  ebb  at  present,  as  I  think  you  will  acknow- 
ledge."    This  is  a  sad  fact  very  patent  to  everybody. 

After  seeing  the  act  of  justice  performed  on  the 
wretched  assassin  San^a,  and  witnessino;  the  shooting  of 
him  and  the  body  tossed  into  the  Congo,  he  departs  from 
Stanley  Falls  for  Bangala.  For  Mr.  Jameson  and  Major 
Barttelot  were  both  concerned  in  the  detention  of  Ward 
for  some  reason  at  Bangala,  and  therefore  the  answer  of 
the  Committee  to  their  cablegram  of  the  1st  of  May  was 
in  his  possession.  Mr.  Jameson  is  anxious  to  know  wdiat 
its  tenor  is  before  a  final  movement,  and  he  departs  in 
a  canoe  with  ten  Zanzibaris.  Night  and  day  they  float, 
and  when  opposite  the  Lumami  he  is  attacked  with  fever. 
His  constitution  is  open  to  its  virulence,  filled  as  his 
mind  is  with  despondency,  for  the  fortunes  of  the  Expe- 
dition are — despite  every  stiviuious  endeavour  on  his  part, 
liis  whole-hearted  devotion,  his  marches  and  counter- 
marclics,  his  tramp  of  1400  miles  (1200  miles  l)efore 
leaving  Yambuya,  thence  to  Banalya,  and  then  to 
Stanley  Falls),  his  sacrifice  of  money,  physical  comforts, 
and  the  pouring  out  of  his  soul  to  effect  what  he  thinks 
ought  to  be  done — l)ut  alas  !  "  at  their  lowest  ebb."  And 
the  fever  mounts  to  his  brain.  By  day  and  night  the 
canoe-men  press  on  to  the  goal  of  Bangala  Station,  and 
arrive  in  time  to  put  him  in  the  arms  of  Mr.  Ward, 
where  iie  breathes  his  last,  as  the  advance  column,  re- 
turning after   its   ru.sliing  and    swinging    pace  through 


A   DJREADFUL   PEST-EOLD.  521 

forest  and   by  river   from    the   Albert   Nyanza,    enter     1888. 
Banalya  to  demand  "  Where  is  Jameson  ? "  ^"^• 

Twenty-eight  days  after  the  tragic  death  of  Major  ^^^^f^ 
Barttelot,  and  twenty-three  days  after  the  departure  of 
Jameson,  the  advance  column  returning  from  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  nmch  reduced  in  numbers,  and  so  tattered  in 
their  clothing  that  they  Avere  taken  for  pagans  picked 
up  by  the  way  and  their  old  comrades  failed  to  recognise 
them,  appeared  at  Banalya  to  learn  for  the  first  time  the 
distressful  story  of  the  rear  column. 

The  life  of  misery  which  was  related  ^vas  increased 
by  the  misery  which  we  saw.  Pen  cannot  picture  nor 
tongue  relate  the  full  horrors  witnessed  within  that 
dreadful  pest-hold.  The  nameless  scourge  of  barbarians 
was  visible  in  the  faces  and  bodies  of  many  a  hideous- 
looking  human  being,  who,  disfigured,  bloated,  marred 
and  scarred,  came,  impelled  by  curiosity,  to  hear  and 
see  us  who  had  come  from  the  forest  land  east,  and  who 
were  reckless  of  the  terror  they  inspired  by  the  death 
embodied  in  them.  There  were  six  dead  bodies  lying 
unburied,  and  the  smitten  living  with  their  festers 
lounged  in  front  of  us  by  the  dozen.  Others  worn  to 
thin  skin  and  staring  bone  from  dysentery  and  fell 
anaemia,  and  ulcers  as  large  as  saucers,  crawded  about 
and  hollowly  sounded  their  dismal  welcome — a  welcome 
to  this  charnel  yard !  AVeak,  wearied,  and  jaded  in 
body  and  mind,  I  scarcely  know  how  I  endured  the  first 
few  hours,  the  ceaseless  story  of  calamity  vexed  my  ears, 
a  deadly  stench  of  disease  hung  in  the  air,  and  the  most 
repellent  sights  moved  and  surged  before  my  dazed 
eyes.  I  heard  of  murder  and  death,  of  sickness  and 
sorrow,  anguish  and  grief,  and  wherever  I  looked  the 
hollow  eyes  of  dying  men  met  my  own  with  such  trust- 
ing, pleading  regard,  such  far-away  yearning  looks,  that 
it  seemed  to  me  if  but  one  sob  was  uttered  my  heart 
would  break.  I  sat  stupefied  under  a  suffocating  sense 
of  despondency,  yet  the  harrowing  story  moved  on  in 
a  dismal  cadence  that  had  nought  else  in  it  but  death 
and  disaster,  disaster  and  death.  A  hundred  graves  at 
Yambuya — thirty-three  men  perishing  abandoned  in  the 


622  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  camp,  ten  dead  on  the  road,  about  forty  in  the  village 
^^°-  about  to  yield  their  feeble  hold  of  life,  desertions  over 
'°^  y^-  twenty,  rescued  a  passable  sixty  !  And  of  the  gallant 
band  of  Enolishmen  ?  "  Barttelot's  wave  is  but  a  few 
yards  off,  Troup  went  home  a  skeleton.  Ward  is  some- 
where a  wanderer,  Jameson  has  gone  to  the  Falls,  I  don't 
know  why."  "  And  you — you  are  the  only  one  left  ?  " 
*'  The  only  one,  sir." 

If  I  were  to  record  all  that  I  saw  at  Banalya  in  its 
deep  intensity  of  unqualified  misery,  it  would  be  like 
stripping  the  bandages  off  a  vast  sloughing  ulcer, 
striated  with  bleeding  arteries,  to  the  public  gaze,  with 
no  earthly  purpose  than  to  shock  and  disgust. 

Implicitly  believing  as  we  did  in  the  elan  of  Barttelot, 
in  the  fidelity  of  Jameson,  in  the  vigorous  youth  and 
manly  promise  of  Ward,  in  the  prudence  and  trustworthi- 
ness of  Troup,  and  the  self-command  and  steadiness  of 
Bonny,  all  these  revelations  came  to  me  with  a  severe 
shock.  The  column  was  so  complete  with  every  requisite 
for  prolonged  and  useful  work,  but  the  "  flood- tide  of 
opportunity"  flowed  before  them  unseen  and  unnoted, 
therefore  their  marches  became  mere  "  marking;  time." 

What,  Barttelot !  that  tireless  man  with  the  ever- 
rusliing  pace,  that  cheery  young  soldier,  with  his  daunt- 
less bearing,  whose  soul  was  ever  yearning  for  glory.  A 
man  so  lavishly  equipped  with  Nature's  advantages  to 
bow  the  knee  thus  to  the  grey  craftiness  at  Stanley 
Falls  !  It  was  all  an  unsolved  riddle  to  me.  I  would 
have  wagered  he  would  have  seized  that  flowing  grey 
beard  of  Tij)pu-Tib  and  jjounded  the  face  to  pulp,  even 
in  the  midst  of  his  power,  rather  tlian  allow  himself 
to  be  thus  cajoled  time  and  time  again.  The  fervid 
vehemence  of  his  promise  not  to  wait  a  day  after  the 
fixed  date  yet  rings  in  my  ears  ;  I  feel  tlie  strong  grip, 
and  see  the  resolute  face,  and  I  remember  my  glowing 
confidence  in  him. 

It  is  said  tliat  "  Still  waters  run  deep."  Now  Jameson 
was  such  a  still,  and  ])aticnt,  and  witlial  determined  man 
that  we  all  conceded  a  certain  greatness  to  him.  Pie 
had  paid  .£1000  stcrlijig,  and  had  pnmiiscd  diligence  and 


THE  SAD   DEATH   OF  JAMESON.  523 

zealous  service,  for  the  privilege  of  being  enrolled  as  a     isss, 
member    of    tlie    Expedition.     He  had   a   passion  for     ''^""• 
natural  history  to  gratify,  with  a  marked  partiality  for     **"''  ^^ 
ornithology  and  entomology.      According  ta  Barttelot, 
"  his   alacrity,  capacity,  and  willingness  to  work  were 
unbounded,"  which  I  unqualifiedly  endorse.     What  else 
he  was  may  be  best  learned  in  his  letter  of  August  1 2, 
and  his  entries  in  the  log  book.     Zeal  and  activity  grow 
into  promise  and  relief  as  we  read,  he  seals  his  devo- 
tion by  offering  out  of  his  purse  £10,000,  and  by  that 
unhappy  canoe  voyage  by  day  and  by  night,  until  he 
was  lifted  to  his  bed  to  die  at  Bangala. 

Granted  that  Tippu-Tib  was  kind  to  these  young 
gentlemen  during  their  frequent  visits  to  Stanley  Falls, 
and  welcomed  and  feasted  them  on  the  best,  and  that 
he  sent  them  back  to  Yambuya  with  loads  of  rice  and 
flocks  of  goats,  which  is  admitted.  But  his  natural 
love  of  power,  his  ignorance  of  geography,  his  barbarous 
conceit,  his  growing  indolence,  and  his  quickened  avarice 
proved  insuperable  obstacles  to  the  realizing  of  Barttelot 
and  Jameson's  wishes,  and  were  as  fatally  opposite  to 
their  interests  and  dearest  desires  as  open  war  would 
have  been.  The  wonder  to  me  is  that  the  officers  never 
seem  to  be  conscious  that  their  visits  and  rich  gifts  to 
him  are  utterly  profitless,  and  that  the  object  they  have 
at  heart,  their  inherited  qualities,  their  education,  habits, 
and  natures  forbid  any  further  repetition  of  them.  For 
some  mysterious  reason  they  pin  their  faith  with  tlie 
utmost  tenacity  to  Tippu-Tib,  and  to  his  promises  of 
"  nine  days,"  then  "  ten  days,"  then  "  forty-two  days," 
&c. ,  &c. ,  all  of  which  are  made  only  to  be  broken. 

But  the  most  icy  heart  may  well  be  melted  with  com.- 
passion  for  these  young  men  so  prematurely  cut  off — - 
and  so  near  rescue  after  all.  They  bravely  attempt  to 
free  their  clouded  minds  and  to  judge  clearly  in  which 
course  lies  their  duty.  At  their  mess-table  they  sit 
discussing  what  ought  to  be  done.  Mind  gravitates  to 
mind,  and  ignites  a  spark  of  the  right  sort ;  it  is  uttered, 
but  some  one  or  something  quenches  the  spark  as 
soon  as  it  flashes,  and  the  goodly  purpose  goes  astray 


Banalya, 


524  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  They  propose  a  number  of  schemes  wide  apart  from  the 
^^f  simple  suggestions  that  I  have  furnished  them  with,  and 
each  project  as  soon  as  it  is  born  is  frustrated  by  some 
untoward  event  soon  after.  Though  they  all  are  un- 
doubtedly animated  by  the  purest  motives,  and  remain 
to  the  end  unquestionably  loyal — throughout  every  act 
they  are  doing  themselves  irreparable  injury,  and  un- 
consciously weighing  their  friends  of  the  advance  column 
down  to  the  verge  of  despair  with  anxieties. 

The  following  is  Mr.  Herbert  Ward's  report,  which  in 
justice  I  feel  bound  to  publish  : — 

"  Windsor  Hotel, 
"  New  York  City, 

"  Feb.  Vdth,  1890. 

"  On  August  14th,  1887,  Troup,  Bonny,  and  myself,  with  the  men  and 
loads,  arrived  at  Yambuya  from  Bolobo.  We  found  that  since  your 
departure  on  June  28th,  1887,  nothing  had  leen  heard  of  Tippu-Tib,  and 
that  the  Major  and  Jameson  had  occupied  their  time  in  obtaining  fire- 
wood for  the  steamer.  On  the  following  afternoon  after  our  arrival,  a 
band  of  Manyuema  attacked  tlie  tempoiviry  village  that  the  Chief  Ngunga 
liad  liuilt  on  the  oiDi^osite  side  of  the  river,  just  below  the  rapids.  IBonny 
and  I  crossed  in  a  canoe  to  discover  wlio  they  were,  but  apparently  as 
soon  as  they  saw  the  steamer  lying  alongside  our  camp,  they  cleared  off 
into  the  forest,  and  returned  to  their  own  camp,  which  the  natives  told 
us  was  but  a  few  hours'  journey  up  the  river.  The  next  day  the  head  man 
of  the  Man,v nomas,  named  Abdallali,  came  to  us  with  a  few  followers,  and 
gave  an  account  of  how  Tippu-Tib,  true  to  his  word,  had  sent  about 
500  men  to  us  in  canoes  under  Salim  bin  Mohammed,  but  that  they  had 
encountered  much  hostility  from  the  natives,  and  after  paddling  against 
the  stream  for  several  days,  and  finding  no  indication  of  our  camp  they 
disbanded,  and  Salim  sent  small  bands  of  Manyucmas  in  different  direc- 
tions to  try  and  discover  our  whereabouts,  and  Abdallali  represented 
himself  as  l)eing  tlic  head-man  of  one  of  the  parties  sent  in  search  of  our 
camp.  Anotlier  version  of  the  story  to  account  for  the  500  men  dis- 
banding when  on  their  way  uji  the  Aruwimi,  was  that  their  ammunition 
had  given  out,  and  the  natives  ])roved  too  strong  for  them.  Abdallali 
stated  that  Tip])u-Tib  was  (piitc  willing  to  supi)ly  the  men,  and  that  as 
Stanley  Falls  was  only  a  few  days' journey,  wo  could  easily  go  ourselves 
and  see  Tii)pii-Tib,  and  that  lie  hunsclf  would  be  ready  the  next  day  to 
accompany  us  and  act  as  guide. 

"  The  Major  instruclcd  Jameson  andmy.*(^lf  to  proceed  to  the  Falls.  We 
wen;  there  told  the  same  story  again,  of  how  Tip|)U-Tib  had  scut  a  large 
numl)cr  of  men  to  us,  but  that  they  had  disbandeil  on  the  Aruwimi  liiver 
on  account  of  thtu'r  l)eing  unable  to  ])ass  some  ])opulous  village,  where  the 
natives  had  attaciked  and  driven  them  back,  as  they  were  short  of  gun- 
jiowder.  Tippu  Til)  prolbsstid  his  willingness  to  sup])Iy  the  men,  but 
said  that  it  would  reipiin!  some  time  to  (collect  them  together  again. 

"  As  there  w(!n;  upwards  of  (iOO  valuable  loads  stored  in  Yambuya  Camp, 
and  only  a  Huflicient  number  of  able-liodied  men  to  carry  175,  we  all  con- 
sidered it  b(!tter  to  guard  the  loads  in  the  camp  where  there  was  abund- 
ance of  f(K)d  for  tli(!  UKiii,  until  the  arrival  of  Ti]i|)U-Tib's  ju'omiscd  aid 
than  to  discard  a  portion  <if  the  loads  mid  to  make  triple  marches;  for  we 


MR.    T7ERBERT    WARD'S   REPORT.  525 

•were  all  convinced  from  evidence  we  had  of  men  even  deserting  from  the       jggg^ 
camp,  tliat  after  the  first  few  days'  marcliing  most  of  our  men  wonld       Aug." 
desert  and  join  the  Arab  band  of  Waswahili  and  Manynenia  raiders,  wlio,    ^      .' 
we  found,  were  traversing  tlie  country  in  all  directions,  and  whose  free,      *"*>'* 
unrestrained  manner  of  living  rendered  our  men  dissatisfied  with  their 
lot,  and  tempted  them  to  desert  us  and  accompany  their  compatriots. 
The  Major,  our  chief,  personally  disliked  the  Zanzibaris,  and  lacked  the 
proper  influence  over  them. 

"  Tippii-Til)  continued  to  procrastinate,  and  in  the  meantime  a  large 
number  of  our  Zanzibaris,  many  of  whom,  however,  from  the  first  w-ere 
organically  diseased  and  poorly,  sickened  and  died.  They  were  always 
employed,  and  the  cause  of  their  deatli  cannot  be  attributed  to  inaction. 
Being  fatalists,  they  resigned  themselves  without  an  effort,  for  tlie 
Bnmna  Makuhim,  with  their  comrades,  had  gone  into  the  dark  forests, 
and  they  all  verily  Itelieved  had  perished.  Tliey  themselves,  when  they 
found  that  upon  no  consideration  would  there  ever  be  a  chance  of 
returning  to  their  own  country  except  by  the  deadly  forest  roiite,  looked 
upon  the  situation  as  hopeless,  gave  way,  and  died. 

"  We  expected  you  to  return  to  Yambuya  about  the  end  of  November; 
but  time  passed  away  and  we  received  no  news  from  you.  We  were 
unable  to  make  triple  marches  owing  to  the  sad  condition  of  our  people. 
Every  means  was  tried  to  urge  Tippu-Tib  to  produce  the  men,  but 
without  avail. 

"  In  Fel)ruary,  1888,  the  Major  and  Jameson  went  again  to  the  Falls, 
and  on  the  24th  March  the  Major  returned  to  Yaniluiya.  He  stated  that 
he  had  guaranteed  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  of  money  to  Tippu-Tib  if 
he  would  ])roduce  the  men,  that  Jameson  had  gone  to  Kasongo  to  hurry 
them  up,  and  that  he  considered  that  the  Committee  should  be  informed 
of  the  state  of  affairs;  firstly,  that  no  news  whatever  had  been  received 
from  you  since  yoiar  departure,  nine  months  before ;  secondly,  that 
Tippu-TilVs  aid  was  not  forthcoming,  that  we  were  still  in  Yambuya 
unable  to  march.  No  steamers  had  visited  the  camp  since  the  arrival  of 
the  last  contingent. 

"  It  appeared  to  us  that  evidently  circumstances  had  prevented  you 
from  communicating  with  us  after  your  departure,  and  that  news  about 
your  movements  might  have  reached  the  east  coast. 

"  As  it  ai:)peared  possible  to  reach  Loanda  and  communicate  by  cable 
with  the  Committee  and  return  to  Yambuya  by  the  time  Jameson  was 
expected  from  Kasongo,  the  Major  instructed  me  to  convey  and  despatch 
a  cablegram  which  he  himself  worded  and  signed.  I  accomplished  the 
journey  in  thirty  days,  and  immediately  upon  receiving  their  reply  (the 
clause  "  we  refer  you  to  Mr.  Stanley's  instructions  of  June  2'ith,"  was 
precisely  what  both  Troup  and  I  expected  before  my  departure),  I 
hastened  back  as  far  as  Bangala,  where  I  was  instructed  to  remain  by 
the  Major  until  1  received  further  news  from  the  Committee,  to  whom  he 
had  written,  that  he  had  no  further  use  for  my  services  or  the  loads  he 
had  sent  down  in  Le  Sianky. 

"Five  weeks  after  my  arrival  at  Bangala,  news  came  down  by  the 
Eu  Evant  that  the  Major  had  been  assassinated.  Jameson,  who  was 
at  the  Falls  seeing  to  the  jmnishmentof  the  murderer  and  reorganisation 
of  the  Manyuema  contingent,  wrote  and  urged  me  to  stay  at  Bangala. 
Having  descended  from  the  Falls  in  canoes,  he  was  in  the  last  stage  of 
bilious  fever.  Despite  every  care  and  attention,  he  died  the  following 
day.  He  came  down  to  Bangala  to  learn  the  Committee's  reply  to  the 
Major's  cable,  and  to  take  back  the  Bangala  loads  and  myself  in  the 
steamer  that  the  State  officer  at  the  Falls  had  assured  him  would  be  at 
Bangala  on  its  way  uj)  to  tlie  Falls  just  about  the  time  he  would  arrivo. 


Banalva. 


526  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

1888.  T^^i^  information  about  tlie  steamer  was  false,  and  on  the  first  day  of  his 
jov;rney  down  in  the  canoes  he  caught  a  fatal  cliill,  which  resulted  in  his 

iir,"f,',o  '^eath  from  bilious  fever.  There  being  no  possible  chance  of  my  joining 
Bonny,  as  no  steamer  was  to  again  visit  the  Falls  for  some  months,  I 
went  to  the  coast  to  acquaint  the  Committee  with  the  fact  of  Jameson's 
death,  and  the  position  of  affairs  as  I  learnt  them  from  Jameson  before 
his  death.  They  cabled  an  order  for  mc  to  return  to  the  Falls,  and  hand 
over  the  remaining  stores  to  the  State  Station  there,  and  to  bring  down 
Bonny  and  the  men  for  shipment.  Upon  reaching  Stanley  Pool  I  found 
that  news  had  just  been  received  of  your  arrival  at  Banalya  and  return 
to  Emin  Pasha.  I  continued  my  journey,  however,  to  the  Falls,  and 
took  up  with  me  all  the  loads  that  the  Major  had  sent  down  to  Bangala. 
1  remained  one  month  at  the  Falls  anxiously  hoping  for  further  news  of 

you. 

"  After  collecting  all  that  remained  of  the  sick  men  whom  the  Major 
handed  over  to  Tippu-Tib,  I  descended  the  Congo  again  in  canoes  and 
returned  to  Europe  according  to  the  cabled  instructions  of  the  Com- 
mittee. 

"The  above  is  a  simple  and  truthful  statement  of  facts  relating  to  the 
failure  of  the  rear  guard. 

"  No  one  can  feel  more  bitterly  disappointed  at  the  unfortunate  condition 
of  affairs  than  myself.  I  regret  most  sincerely  that  my  services  were  so 
profitless. 

"  I  remain, 

"  Always  yours  faithfully, 

(Signed)  "  Herbert  Ward. 

*•  Henry  M.  Stanley,  Esq." 

Mr.  AVard  informed  me  that  lie  had  discovered  my 
eight  boxes  of  reserve  clothing  and  Expedition  neces- 
saries at  Bangala  ;  that  he  took  them  with  him  to 
Stanley  Falls — 500  miles  above  Bangala — and  then 
brought  them  down  to  Banana  Point  on  the  sea-coast, 
where  he  left  them.  No  person  knows — though  diligent 
en<:|uiry  has  been  made — what  has  become  of  them. 


APPENDIX. 


Major  Barttblot's  Last  Report  of  events  at  Yamlmya  : — 

Yambuya  Camp,  June  4,  1888. 

Sir, — I  have  the  honour  to  report  to  you  that  we  are  ahnnt  to 
make  a  move,  though  with  far  less  numbers  than  I  originally 
intended.  Tippu-Tib  has  at  last,  but  with  great  reluctance,  given  us 
400  men.  I  have  also  obtained  from  another  Arab  called  Muini 
Somai  thirty  more  carriers ;  we  shall  move  not  earlier  than  the  9th 
of  June,  and  our  forces  will  be  as  follows  ; — Soudanese  22,  rifles  22  ; 
Zanzibaris  110,  rifles  110,  loads  90;  Manyuema  430,  muskets  300, 
loads  380.  The  officers  who  are  going  are  Major  Barttelot,  in 
command ;  Mr.  J.  S.  Jameson,  second  in  command ;  Mr.  W.  Bonny ; 
Sheik  Muini  Somai  in  command  of  Manyuema  force. 

Sheik  Muini  Somai  is  an  Arab  of  Kibonge,  who  volunteered  to 
accompany  the  Expedition  as  commander  under  me  of  the  native 
contingent. 

On  May  8,  the  Belgian  steamer  A.  I.  A.,  with  M.  van  Kerk-hoven, 
the  chief  of  Bangala,  arrived  here,  having  on  board  Mr.  Ward's 
escort  of  thirty  Zanzibaris  and  four  Soudanese,  one  Soudanese  dying 
at  Bangala. 

Maij  ll//i.— They  left  us  to  go  to  Stanley  Falls. 

May  14</j. — I  left  for  Stanley  Falls,  going  overland  and  catching 
the  steamer  at  Yallasula,  on  the  Congo.  I  proceeded  with  the 
Belgians  to  the  Falls  on  May  22. 

Mr.  Jameson  and  Tippu-Tib,  with  400  men,  returned  from 
Kasongo. 

Mr.  Jameson  wrote  to  you  while  at  Kasongo  of  his  proceedings 
there.  He  told  me  on  arrival  that  Tippu-Tib  had  promised 
him  800  men,  but  would  make  no  written  agreement  with  him. 

May  23rc?. — I  had  my  palaver  with  Tippu-Tib ;  he  then  told  me 
he  could  only  let  me  have  400  men,  300  of  whom  were  to  carry 
40-lb.  loads,  and  100  20-lb.  loads.  He  said  the  men  were  present, 
and  ready  to  start  as  soon  as  I  had  my  loads  ready.  I  told  him  of 
what  he  had  promised  Mr.  Jameson  at  Kasongo,  but  he  said  never 
had  any  mention  of  800  men  been  made,  only  of  the  400.  That  it 
was  qiiite  impossible  he  could  give  us  more  men,  as  he  was  short  of 
men  at  Kasongo  and  Nyangwe,  as  he  was  at  present  engaged  in  so 
manj  wars    that   he  had  completely    drained    the   country.      I  was 


628  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

forced  to  submit,  but  bopecl  that  be  might  be  able  to  collect  another 
100  or  so  at  and  around  Yambuya. 

Tippu  then  asked  me  if  I  wanted  a  headman,  stating  that  in  the 
former  agreement  Mr.  Stanley  had  said  that  if  a  headman  was  taken 
he  should  be  paid.  I  replied,  Certainly  I  want  a  headman.  He  then 
jn-esented  me  to  the  Arab,  Muini  Somai.  This  man  agreed  to  come, 
and  I  send  you  the  terms  I  settled  with  him. 

I  got  back  to  Camp  Yambuya  May  30. 

June  Atli. — The  Stanley  steamer  arrived,  and  the  A.  I.  A.,  the 
former  bringing  Belgian  officers  for  the  Falls  Station,  the  latter 
Tippu-Tib  himself. 

June  5th. — I  had  another  palaver  with  Tippu-Tib,  asking  him 
where  were  the  250  men  already  sent ;  he  explained  to  me  that  they 
had  been  disjiersed,  and  on  trying  to  collect  them  they  refused  to 
come,  owing  to  the  bad  rej)orts  brought  in  by  the  deserters,  and  that  as 
they  were  subjects  and  not  slaves  he  could  not  force  them.  That 
was  the  reason  why  he  had  brought  400  entirely  fresh  men  from 
Kasongo  for  us. 

However,  Tipj)u  said  he  could  let  me  have  thirty  more  men 
of  Muini  Somai.  This,  as  I  was  so  terribly  short  of  men,  I 
agreed  to. 

Muini  Somai  himself  api)ear8  a  willing  man,  and  very  anxious  to 
do  his  best.  He  volunteered  for  the  business.  I  trust  you  will  not 
think  his  payment  excessive,  but  the  anxiety  it  takes  away  as  regards 
his  men  and  the  safety  of  the  loads  is  enormous,  for  he  is  responsible 
for  the  Manyuema  and  the  loads  they  carry,  and  thus  saves  the  white 
officers  an  amount  of  work  and  responsibility  which  they  can  now 
devote  to  other  purposes. 

The  loads  we  do  not  take  are  to  be  sent  to  Bangala.  They  will 
be  loaded  up  in  the  A.  I.  A.,  or  Stanley,  on  June  8,  a  receipt  being 
given  for  them  by  Mr.  Van  Kerk-hoven,  which  is  marked  B  and 
forwarded  to  you,  also  a  letter  of  instruction  to  him  and  to  Mr.  Ward. 
Perhaps  you  would  kindly  give  the  rocpiisite  order  concerning  the 
loads  and  the  two  canoes  i)urchascd  in  March  for  Mr.  Ward's 
transjxtrt,  also  for  tliose  stores  purchased  by  Mr.  Ward  on  behalf  of 
the  Expediticm,  as  it  is  nearly  certain  I  shall  not  return  this  way,  and 
shall  therefore  have  no  further  need  of  them  or  him.  Mr.  Troup, 
who  is  in  a  terrildo  condition  of  debility  and  internal  disarrangement, 
is  ])rococdiiig  homo  ut  liis  own  ro(juest.  Mr.  Bouny's  certificate  of 
his  unfitness  is  attached,  and  his  application  marked  E,  also  letters 
concerning  jjasKage,  (Vc.,  to  M.  Fontaine,  marked  F.  I  have  given 
him  a  passage  lionieat  tlic  cxi)cnsc  of  tlic  Ex])cdition,  as  I  am  sure  it 
wouhl  be  your  and  tlicir  wisli. 

Tlic  inter])retoi',  Assad  Fuiran,  I  uni  also  sending  homo.  He  has 
been,  and    is,  utterly  useless    to  me,  and  is  in  fiiiling  health;  and  if  I 


APPENDIX.  529 

took  him  with  me  I  would  only,  after  a  few  marches,  have  either  to 
carry  or  leave  him,  and  I  am  terribly  short  of  carriers.  So  I  have 
ventured  to  send  him  home  with  a  steerage  passage  to  Cairo,  and 
have  sent  a  letter  to  the  Consnl-General,  Cairo,  concerning  him ;  also 
copy  of  agreement  made  by  Assad  Farran  with  me  on  his  proceeding 
home ;  also  papers  of  interpreter,  Alexander  Hadad,  who  died 
June  24,  1887,  both  marked  G.  These  two  interpreters  made  no 
sort  of  agreement  concerning  pay,  terms  of  service,  &c.,  when  they 
agreed  to  come  on  this  Expedition  in  February,  1887,  so  perhaps  you 
would  kindly  inform  the  proper  authorities  on  that  subject.  With 
British  troops  in  Egyjjt,  as  interpreters,  they  would  have  received  not 
more  than  £6  a  month  and  their  rations,  for  as  interpreters  they  were 
both  very  inferior. 

A  Soudanese  soldier  with  a  diseased  leg  is  also  proceeding  down 
country.  Besides  these  there  are  four  other  Soudanese  and  twenty- 
nine  Zanzibaris  who  are  unable  to  proceed  with  us.  Tippu-Tib  has 
kindly  consented  to  get  these  to  Zanzibar  as  best  he  can.  A  complete 
list  of  them,  their  payments,  &c.,  will  be  forwarded  to  the  Consul  at 
Zanzibar,  and  I  have  requested  him  to  forward  on  the  Soudanese  to 
Egypt. 

My  intentions  on  leaving  this  camp  are  to  make  the  best  of  my 
way  along  the  same  route  taken  by  Mr.  Stanley ;  should  I  get  no 
tidings  of  him  along  the  road,  to  proceed  as  far  as  Kavalli,  and  then 
if  I  hear  nothing  there  to  proceed  to  Kibero.  If  I  can  ascertain 
either  at  Kavalli  or  Kibero  his  whereabouts,  no  matter  how  far  it 
may  be,  I  will  endeavour  to  reach  him.  Should  he  be  in  a  fix  I  will 
do  my  utmost  to  relieve  him.  If  neither  at  Kavalli  nor  Kibero  I 
can  obtain  tidings  of  him,  I  shall  go  on  to  Wadelai  and  ascertain 
from  Emin  Pasha,  if  he  be  there  still,  if  he  has  any  news  of  Mr. 
Stanley,  also  of  his  own  intentions  as  regards  staying  or  leaving.  I 
will  persuade  him,  if  possible,  to  come  out  with  me,  and,  if  necessary, 
aid  me  in  my  search  for  Mr.  Stanley.  Should  it  for  sundry  reasons 
be  unnecessary  to  look  further  for  Mr.  Stanley,  I  will  place  myself 
and  force  at  his  disposal  to  act  as  his  escort,  proceeding  by  which- 
ever route  is  most  feasible,  so  long  as  it  is  not  through  Uganda,  as  in 
that  event  the  Manyuemas  would  leave  me,  as  I  have  promised  Tippu- 
Tib  they  shall  not  go  there,  and  that  I  will  bring  them  back  or  send 
a  white  officer  with  them  back  to  their  own  country  by  the  shortest 
and  quickest  route  on  completion  of  my  object.  This  is  always 
supposing  Emin  Pasha  to  be  there  and  willing  to  come  away.  It 
may  be  he  only  needs  ammunition  to  get  away  by  himself,  in  which 
case  I  would  in  all  probability  be  able  to  supply  him,  and  would  send 
three-fourths  of  my  Zanzibar  force  and  my  two  officers  with  him,  and 
would  myself,  with  the  other  Zanzibaris,  accompany  the  Manyuemas 
back  to  the  Tippu-Til)'s  country,  and  so  to  the  coast,  by  the  shortest 

VOL.    L  I  y 


530  IN  DARKEST  AFRIOA. 

route — viz.,  by  the  Muta-Nzige,  Tanganika  and  Ujiji.  This  is  also 
the  route  I  should  take  should  we  be  unable  to  find  Stanley,  or,  from 
the  reasons  either  that  he  is  not  there  or  does  not  wish  to  come, 
relieve  Emin  Pasha. 

I  need  not  tell  you  that  all  our  endeavours  will  be  most  strenuous 
to  make  the  quest  in  which  we  are  going  a  success,  and  I  hope  that 
my  actions  may  meet  -ndth  the  approval  of  the  committee,  and  that 
they  "n411  suspend  all  judgment  concerning  those  actions,  either  in 
the  present,  past,  or  future,  till  I  or  Mr.  Jameson  return  home. 

Rumour  is  always  rife,  and  is  seldom  correct,  concerning  Mr. 
Stanley.  I  can  hear  no  news  whatever,  though  my  labours  in  that 
direction  have  been  most  strenuous.  He  is  not  dead,  to  the  best  of 
my  belief,  nor  of  the  Arabs  here  or  at  Kasongo.  I  have  been  obliged 
to  open  Mr.  Stanley's  boxes,  as  I  cannot  carry  all  his  stuff,  and  I  had 
no  other  means  of  ascertaining  what  was  in  them.  Two  cases  of 
Madeira  were  also  sent  him.  One  case  I  am  sending  back,  the  other 
has  been  half  given  to  Mr.  Troup,  the  other  half  we  take  as  medical 
comforts.  Concerning  Tippu-Tib  I  have  nothing  to  say  beyond  that 
he  has  broken  faith  with  us,  and  can  only  conjecture  from  siirround- 
ing  events  and  circumstances  the  cause  of  his  unreasonable  delay  in 
supplying  men,  and  the  paucity  of  that  supply. 

I  deem  it  my  bounden  duty  to  proceed  on  this  business,  in  which 
I  am  fully  upheld  by  both  Mr.  Jameson  and  Mr.  Bonny ;  to  wait 
longer  would  be  both  useless  and  culpable,  as  Tipp^^-Tib  has  not  the 
remotest  intention  of  helping  us  any  more,  and  to  withdraw  would  be 
pusillanimous,  and,  I  am  certain,  entirely  contrary  to  your  wishes  and 
those  of  the  committee. 

I  calculate  it  will  take  me  from  three  to  four  months  to  reach  the 
lakes,  and  frcmi  seven  to  nine  more  to  reach  the  coast. 

Should  you  think  and  the  committee  agree  that  the  sum  is 
excessive  to  give  Muini  Somai  and  are  not  prepared  to  meet  it,  or  may 
be,  are  prepared  to  jdace  only  a  jiortion  of  that  at  my  disposal  for  that 
purpose,  botli  Mr.  Jameson  and  I  are  fully  j)repared  to  meet  it  or  the 
remaining  portion  of  it,  as  it  is  entirely  for  our  benefit  \ie  is  coming ; 
though  of  course  it  must  be  remend)crcd  that  our  object  is  to  reach 
our  destination  with  as  many  of  our  loads  as  possible,  and  that  our 
iTidividual  liohl  over  the  Manyuema  mthout  outside  aid  would  be  nil. 
Should  you  agi'cc  to  \)\-M-ii  tlic  sum  at  my  disposal,  please  arrange 
accordingly  ;  if  only  a  portion,  that  portion,  for  he  lias  received  an 
advance  in  powder,  clotli,  beads,  and  cowries  to  the  value  of  £128.  In 
case  of  not  meeting  it  or  only  a  portion  of  it,  please  inform  Sir  Walter 
I'arttelot,  Curl  ton  Club.  I  insert  this  as  it  is  most  necessary  the 
luoiiey  slnnild  be  tliere  when  wanted,  as  Arabs  ami  Orientals  arc  most 
]»uii(;tilious  on  pecuniary  transactions. 

1  have    much   pleasure  iu   stating   that   from  all    the    officers    of 


APPENDIX.  531 

the  State  with  whom  I  Lave  come  in  contact  or  from  whom  I  have 
solicited  aid,  I  have  met  with  a  most  willing  and  ready  response, 
which  is  highly  gratifying.  I  would  particularly  mention  Captain 
Van  Kerk-hoven,  Chief  of  Bangala,  and  Lieutenant  Liebrechts, 
Chief  of  Stanley  Pool,  and  I  trust  that  they  may  meet  with  the 
reward  and  merit  they  deserve. 

June  6th. — This  morning  Tippu-Tib  sent  for  me  and  asked  me  if 
I  thought  he  would  get  his  money  for  the  men.  I  told  him  I  could 
give  no  assurance  of  that.  He  then  said  he  must  have  a  guarantee, 
which  I  and  Mr.  Jameson  have  given ;  terms  of  agreement  and 
guarantee  are  attached.  All  receipts,  agreements,  &c.,  made  between 
Arabs  and  myself  and  signed  by  them  I  have  sent  to  Mr.  Hcdmwood, 
and  the  copies  to  you. 

Ju7ie  8tJi. — This  morning  I  had  the  loads  for  Tippu-Tib's  and 
Muini  Somai's  men  stacked,  and  Tipi^u-Tib  himself  came  down  to  see 
them  prior  to  issuing.  However,  he  took  exception  to  the  loads,  said 
they  were  too  heavy  (the  heaviest  was  45  lbs.),  and  his  men  could  not 
carry  them.  Two  days  before  he  had  expressed  his  approbation  of 
the  weight  of  the  very  same  loads  he  refused  to-day.  I  pointed  out 
to  him  that  he  as  well  as  I  knew  the  difficulty  of  getting  any  load 
other  than  a  bale,  to  scale  the  exact  weight,  and  that  the  loads  his 
men  carried  were  far  above  the  j)rescribed  weight  of  60  lbs.  We 
were  to  have  started  to-morrow,  so  we  shall  not  now  start  till  the 
11th  or  12th  of  June,  as  I  am  going  to  make  all  his  loads  weigh 
exactly  40  lbs.  It  is  partly  our  fault,  as  we  should  have  been  more 
particular  to  get  the  exact  weight.  The  average  weight  over  due 
was  about  2  lbs.,  some  loads  being  2  lbs.  under.  But  it  is  not  the 
weight  of  the  loads  he  takes  exception  to — in  reality  it  is  having  to 
perform  the  business  at  all.  He  has  been  almost  forced  to  it  by 
letters  received  from  Mr.  Holmwood  against  his  own  and  more  than 
against  the  wish  of  his  fellow  Arabs,  and,  filled  with  aspirations  and 
ambitions  of  a  very  large  nature,  the  whole  business  has  become 
thoroughly  distasteful  to  him,  which  his  professed  friendship  for 
Stanley  cannot  even  overcome.  His  treatment  of  us  this  morning 
showed  that  most  thoroughly.  But  should  he  not  act  \i])  to  his 
contract  I  hope  it  will  be  taken  most  serious  notice  of  when  it  comes 
to  the  day  of  settling  up.  He  has  got  us  tight  fixed  at  present,  but  it 
should  not  always  be  so. 

On  our  road  lie  many  Arab  settlements  to  within  a  mouth  of  Lake 
Albert  Nyanza,  though  the  distance  between  some  of  them  is  bad, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  that  distance  warlike.  I  shall,  whenever 
opportunity  ofiers,  hire  carriers,  if  not  for  the  whole  time  at  any  rate 
from  station  to  station,  for  of  course  death,  sickness,  and  desertions 
must  be  looked  for,  and  I  must  get  my  loads  in  as  intact  as  possible 
to  my  destination. 


532  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

This  is  when  Muini  Somai  will  be  so  useful.  We  seem  to  have 
paid  a  big  price  for  his  services,  but  then  he  is  a  big  Arab,  and  in 
proportion  to  his  bigness  is  his  influence  over  the  Manyuema  to  keep 
them  together,  to  stop  desertions,  thefts,  &c.  A  lesser  Arab  would 
have  been  cheaper,  but  his  influence  would  have  been  less,  and  in 
consequence  our  loads  gradually  less,  and  loads  mean  health  and  life 
and  success,  and  therefore  cannot  be  estimated  at  too  high  a  value. 
We  are  carrying  light  loads,  and  intend  to  do  at  first  very  easy 
marches,  and  when  I  get  into  the  open  country  by  Uganda  to 
push  on. 

We  weighed  all  our  loads  before  one  of  Tippu-Tib's  headmen, 
and  he  passed  loads  which  had  been  condemned  shortly  before  in  the 
morning,  which  fully  shows  that  for  some  reason  or  other  he  wishes 
to  delay  us  here,  but  for  what  purjjose  I  cannot  say. 

June  9th. — We  shall  easily  be  able  to  start  by  the  11th,  but  I  am 
sorry  to  say  our  loss  of  ammunition  by  the  lightening  of  the  loads — 
for  it  was  the  ammunition  they  particularly  took  notice  of — is  some- 
thing enormous. 

Both  the  A.  I.  A.  and  the  Stanlei/  left  this  morning  for 
Stanley  Falls,  but  Tippu-Tib  and  his  Belgian  secretary  remain 
behind  ;  also  four  ships'  carjjenters,  whom  Captain  Vangele  and  M.  van 
Kerk-hoven  left  with  us  to  help  us.  The  Belgians  have  behaved  with 
very  great  kindness  to  us,  and  helped  us  on  our  way  enormously. 

Before  I  close  I  would  wish  to  add  that  the  services  of  Mr.  J,  S. 
Jameson  have  been,  are,  and  will  be  invaluable  to  me.  Never  during 
his  period  of  service  with  me  have  I  had  one  word  of  complaint  from 
him.  His  alacrity,  cajiacity,  and  willingness  to  work  are  unbounded, 
while  his  cheeriness  and  kindly  disposition  have  endeared  him  to  all. 
I  have  given  Ward  orders  about  any  telegram  you  may  send,  and 
Tippu-Tib  has  i)romised  he  will  send  a  messenger  after  me  should  it 
be  necessary,  provided  I  have  not  started  more  than  a  month. 

Tippu-Tib  waits  here  to  see  me  off. 

I  am  sending  a  telegram  to  you  to  announce  our  departure,  and  I 
will  endeavour  through  the  State  to  send  you  news  whenever  I  can  ; 
Init  it  would  not  surpriso  me  if  the  Congo  route  was  not  blocked 
latei'  oil. 

1  have  not  sent  you  a  copy  of  Mr.  Ilolmwood's  letter,  as  it  was  not 
official,  but  of  all  otliers  I  have.  I  tliink  I  told  you  of  everything  of 
which  I  can  write.  There  arc  many  things  I  would  Avish  to  speak  of, 
uiid  no  doubt  I  will  do  ho  sliould  I  be  permitted  to  return  home. 

Our  ammunition,  Remington,  is  as  follows  : — Jliflcs,  128  ;  reserve 
rounds,  j)er  rifle,  27'J  ;  rounds  with  rifle,  20  -  85,580. 

Jnwi  lOth. — Tlie  loads  have  been  weighed  and  handed  over; 
j)owd(;r  and  caps  issued  to  tlie  Maiiyucnia  force,  and  \vc  are  all  ready  to 
etart,  wliich  we  shall  do  to-mon-ow  morning.     I  have  told  you  of  all 


APPENDIX.  633 

how  I  can  thiuk  of,  but  I  would  bring  finally  to  your  notice  that 
Tippu-Tib  lias  broken  his  faith  and  contract  with  us.  The  man 
Muini  Somai  I  thiuk  means  business,  and  therefore  I  trust  all  will 

be  well. 

I  have,  &c., 

Edmund  M.  Barttelot,  Major, 
To  Mr.  William  MacKinnon, 

President  of  the  Emin  Pasha  Relief  Committee. 


COPY  OF  LOG  OF  REAR  COLUMN. 


Note. — This  "Log"  may  not  appear  to  be  very  lively  reading  at  first,  but  it 
presently  deepens  in  interest,  and  will  repay  perusal  to  tlie  reader  who  haa 
shared  in  our  anxieties  respecting  the  fate  of  the  rear  column. 

H.  M.  S. 


June  11th,  1888. — Left  Yambuya  at  7  a.m.  Slight  excitement 
prevailed  at  first,  firing  off  guns,  &c.,  but  this  was  soon  checked. 
The  Zanzibar  Company  went  ahead,  Mr.  Jameson  in  advance,  Mr. 
Bonny  in  the  centre,  Major  Barttelot  in  rear.  The  Manyuema  con- 
tingent under  Muini  Somai  started  later,  but  soon  caught  up  the 
Zanzibar  Company ;  the  rear  reached  camp  at  the  Batuka  village 
called  Sudi  at  noon.  One  sick  man  was  left  behind  on  the  road,  but 
he  found  his  way  to  camp  later  on.     All  loads  correct. 

The  rear  column  left  Yambuya  ^^'ith  strength  as  follows  : — 

Major  Edmund  M.  Barttelot,  Commanding. 
Mr.  James  S.  Jameson,  Second  in  Command. 
Mr.  William  Bonny,  Command  of  Zanzibar  Co. 
Zanzibar  Company         .         .         .108  men. 

Boys      ....         7 
Soudanese  soldiers  ...       22 

Somali  .....         1 

Manyuema  carriers         .         .         .     430 


Total  568 

Distance  travelled  about  five  miles. 

Boad   fair,  through   jungle  and  jjlantations,  the  best    roadways 
being  the  streams. 

General  direction  S.E. 

(Signed)     E.  M.  B. 


534  m  DARKEST  AFBIGA. 

June  23r(Z. — Halted  in  cam])  t(»  await  arrival  of  search  party,  who 
returned  at  3  r.M.,  having  done  nothing.  Major  Barttelot  went  to 
explore  road,  following  it  for  five  miles  to  the  N.E.  Major  Barttelot's 
boy  Soudi  deserted  with  his  revolver,  belt  and  85  rounds  of  ammu- 
nition, owing  to  Major  Barttelot's  thrashing  him,  though  doubtless  he 
was  put  up  to  it.  In  consequence  all  rifles  taken  from  Zanzibaris. 
Major  Barttelot  will  i)roceed  to-morrow  to  Stanley  Falls  to  see  Tip2)u- 
Tib  concerning  deserters,  and  if  possible  to  obtain  fresh  men  from  him 
to  get  back  loads  and  rifles.  He  will  send  a  note  to  Mr.  Jameson 
to  come  here  and  bring  as  many  Manyuema  as  he  can  to  take 
ammunition  and  rifles  and  escort  Zanzibari  to  Abdulla  Karoni's 
(Banalya),  where  they  ^dll  await  Major  Barttelot's  arrival.  Major 
Barttelot  and  Mr.  Bonny  both  thinking  this  the  most  feasible  plan,  as 
if  the  desertions  last  much  longer,  there  will  not  be  a  load  left. 
Kindness  has  been  shown  in  every  way  to  the  Zanzibaris  throughout, 
and  the  marches  have  been  uniformly  short. 

Weather  fine,  shower  in  the  evening. 

E.  M.  B. 

June  24//!. — Major  Barttelot,  with  fourteen  Zanzibaris  and  three 
Soudanese  and  boys,  left  here  this  morning  for  Stanley  Falls.  Kuchu, 
a  Zanzibari,  who,  when  ordered  to  accompany  the  Major,  ran  away, 
came  in  at  8  a.m.     He  was  tied  up  and  kept  in  the  guard-room. 

Coj}y  of  orders  to  Mr.  Bonny,  June  2Srd,  1888. 

L  Take  over  charge  of  the  camp,  remaining   till   Mr.   Jameson's 
arrival. 
II.  To  have  special  care  of  all  Zanzibari  rifles  and  ammunition. 
III.  When  move  is  made,  to  see  that  all  loads,  such  as  ammunition, 

are  under  Soudanese  escort. 
IV.  Any  attempt  at  mutiny  to  be  punished  with  death. 

V.  To  try  to  obtain  information  of  whereabouts. 
VI.  To  hand  over  command   to  Mr.  Jameson  when  he  arrives,  and 
not  to  proceed  further  than  Abdulla  Kihamira's  (Banalya). 

Edmund  M.  Bauttelot. 

You  will  retain  command  of  the  Zanzibaris  as  before. 
A  case  of  small-pox  I  ordered  to  be  removed  some  distance  ofl' 
from  the  camp. 
Weather  fine. 

Wm.  Bonny,  Commanding  (pro  tern.). 

Note  from  Mr.  Jdiiuson. 

"My  DKAii  BoNNV, —  T  liavo  just  arrived  liero.     I  suppose  it  is 
NuHHur  bin  Saifi,  and  luive  mot  Kuchu  and  soldiers  with  slaves.     They 


AFFENDIX.  5^5 

told  me  tliat  tlie  Major  is  gone  to  Stanley  Falls  four  days  ago.  I 
don't  know  how  he  could  have  missed  us.  Have  captured  sixteen  guns 
and  two  men,  but  only  j)art  of  two  loads.  No  medicine.  I  will  como 
to  your  camp  to-morrow  as  early  as  I  can. 

"  Yours  &c. 

Wm.  Bonny,  Commg.  "  J.  S.  Jameson." 

July  2nd. — Grot  away  at  7  a.m.,  and  marched  till  noon.  Camping 
in  a  village  named  Mkwagodi,  tribe  Baburu,  general  direction  N.E., 
distance  about  eight  miles.  Eoad  bad,  running  through  many 
swamps  and  old  plantations.  No  desertions  on  road,  or  in  camp  last 
night.  Found  some  of  Tipjju-Tib's  people  here,  who  say  they  will 
carry  a  letter  to  Stanley  Falls.  They  knew  a  road  to  the  Congo 
which  can  be  traversed  in  four  days'  march.  The  Aruwimi  K.  distant 
from  this  camj)  about  three  hours.  Tippu-Tib's  men  state  that 
Abdallah  Kihamira's  station  (Banalya)  is  but  three  days'  march  from 
here,  and  that  the  blazing  of  trees  on  his  road  beyond  that  i>lace  is 
still  visible. 

"Weather  fine.  J.  S.  J. 

6  P.M.- — Mr.  Bonny  reports  non-arrival  of  two  Zanzibaris.  Each 
possessed  a  rifle,  and  one  was  loaded  with  loose  ammunition. 

Juli/  Srd. — Returned  to  Ujeli  Camp  for  extra  loads,  and  arrived  at 

1  P.M.     Muini  Sumai  reported  arrivals  of  letters,  stating  that  the  whole 

force  was    to   return  to    Stanley   Falls.     Received   two   letters  from 

Major   Barttelot,  dated  June    25th,   to   the   efiect   that    we  were   to 

proceed  with  all  despatch  to  Banalya.     Muini  Sumai  told  me  he  had 

received  the   news   in   a   letter  from  Sala  Sala,  conveyed   by  some 

messenger,  and  that  on  receipt  of  it  he  had  sent  to  stop  the  men  and 

loads  en  route  here  from  Nassur  bin  Saifi  village.     I  rej)lied  that  the 

Major's  orders  were  still  to  proceed  to  Banalya.     He  sent  messengers 

at  once  to  tell  the  people  behind  to  come  on.     He  reports  many  cases 

i,f  small-pox  and  other  diseases,  about  sixty  men  unfit  for  work,  that 

seven  of  his  men  have  deserted.     Met  the  two  men  reported  missing 

last  night.     Both  were  sick  and  had  slept  at  a  village  close  by. 

Weather  fine. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  ith. — Told  Muini  Sumai  that  my  last  orders  to  him  were  to 
get  the  whole  of  his  force  together  at  once,  and  come  on  to  my  camp 
with  all  speed.  He  promised  to  leave  following  day.  Rain  came 
down  in  torrents  shortly  after  leaving,  but  pushed  on  and  reached 
Mpungu  about  noon,  when  it  cleared  up  for  a  fine  day.  Heavy  rain 
until  noon. 

Double  loads  borne  remarkably  well. 

J.  S.  J. 


^36  7iV  DARKEST  AFliWA. 

July  5th. — Eeached  Mkwagodi,  Mr.  Bonny 's  camp,  about  noon. 
Swamps  very  bad  after  rain.  He  reports  all  quiet  during  my  absence. 
One  Zanzibar!  had  died.  My  letters  to  Stanley  Falls  left  about 
9  A.M.  of  tbe  3rd.  Tippu-Tib's  people  had  brought  a  few  fowls  for 
sale. 

Weather  fine.  J.  g.  J. 

July  6(h. — Sent  Mr.  Bonny  on  to  next  village,  which  I  hear  is  a 
large  one,  and  quite  an  easy  march  from  here,  with,  orders  to  send  back 
Soudanese  escort  and  carriers  to  carry  extra  loads  to-morrow.  This  is 
a  very  small  village  with  not  suificient  accommodation  for  our  force, 
so  determined  to  await  his  arrival  at  the  next.  Men  returned  from 
Mr.  Bonny  about  2  p.m. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  7th. — Moved  up  with  all  extra  loads  to  Sipula,  about  fifteen 
miles.  Eoad  a  bad  one,  much  fallen  timber,  and  manioc  very  thick. 
Bonny  reported  Zanzibari  bearer  of  our  chop-box  as  lagging  behind 
yesterday,  and  breaking  open  his  box.  Was  caught  red-handed  in  the 
act.  One  tin  of  corn-beef  and  one  tin  of  milk  were  missing,  also  a 
broached  tin  of  cocoa  still  in  box.  Man  volunteered  to  show  where 
these  were.  Sent  him  back  with  Soudanese,  who  returned  with  both 
tins  opened.  Dr.  Parke's  box,  whilst  being  carried  here  yesterday,  fell 
and  burst  open  ;  damaged  beyond  repair.  The  clothing  I  packed  in 
Messrs.  Stairs'  and  Nelson's  bags,  which  were  underweight ;  the  shot 
and  cartridge  cases  were  discarded,  being  short  of  carriers.  Collected 
all  the  cartridges  carried  by  the  Zanzibari,  and  will  have  them  carried 
as  loads,  as  I  mean  to  send  Mr.  Bonny  on  to  Banalya.  The  road 
is  a  perfectly  safe  one,  and  food  all  the  way.  The  small-pox  is  rife 
amongst  the  Manyuema,  and  I  wish  to  prevent  it  from  spreading 
among  our  people.  Banalya  is  four  easy  marches  from  here,  and 
Mr.  Bonny  will  have  guides  to  show  the  road.  Have  sent  to  Muini 
Suniai  to  jcjin  mo  to-morrow  here. 

A\  cathcr  fine.  J.  S.  J. 

July  Wi. — Mr.  BoTiiiy  left  here  for  Banalya.  Muini  Sumai  with 
nearly  all  tlio  Manyuema  arrived  licro.  Muini  Sumai  tells  mo  tliat  lie 
has  rc(!oivcd  a  second  loiter  from  Sala  saying  tliat  tlio  whole  fi)rce  is 
to  return  to  Stanley  Falls.  Upon  further  in([uiry  I  find  that  tlio  M'ay 
Sala  got  the  news  was  the  fijllowing.  Men  t)f  Salim  Mohamed's 
returning  from  Stanley  Falls  after  the  steamer  had  arrived  at 
Yandjuya  spread  tliis  report  among  the  people,  who  communicated  the 
Bame  to  Sala's  ])eoplc. 

J.  S.  J. 


APPENDIX.  53? 

July  9th. — Last  niglit,  as  if  at  a  given  sigiial,  nearly  every  man  in 
the  camp  began  to  fire  off  his  gun  ;  several  of  the  shots  were  fired 
beside  my  tent.  I  jumped  out  of  bed,  sent  for  Muini  Sumai,  got  my 
rifle,  and  told  him  before  every  one  that  I  would  shoot  the  very  next 
man  that  fired  close  to  my  tent.     There  were  no  more  shots. 

About  noon  to-day  several  of  Benny's  men  came  into  camp  telling 
me  he  had  lost  the  road.  Started  out  to  Bonny's  camp.  Met 
messenger  with  a  note  from  him  on  road.  He  tells  me  the  guides 
yesterday  took  him  all  wrong  and  then  ran  away.  He  afterwards  got 
too  far  N.,  sighting  the  Aruwimi,  He  is  camped  at  a  village  about 
half-an-hour  from  here.  Went  with  him  along  road,  and  found  a 
well  blazed  one  going  to  the  eastward  which  he  had  missed.  Got 
back  to  his  camj)  at  dusk. 

Weather  fair.     Mr.  Bonny  reports  a  goat  missing. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  10th. — Started  Portly  after  daylight  and  joined  Mr.  Bonny. 
Went  ahead  on  road,  general  direction  S.E.  which  I  found  he  had 
followed  the  day  before.  Had  just  determined  to  go  to  where  he  had 
camped  when  Arabs  from  Banalya  arrived.  The  head-man  told  me 
that  he  had  brought  the  percussion-caj)s  from  Stanley  Falls  to 
Banalya,  and  also  four  letters.  He  handed  over  to  me  three  deserters 
from  Mr.  Stanley's  force,  Musa  Wadi  Kombo,  Eehani  Wadi 
Mabruki  and  Jumah  Wadi  Chandi.  (Note  from  Mr.  Stanley :  these 
three  men  deserted  from  the  advance  on  or  about  Aug.  28th.,  just  half 
way  between  Yambuya  and  Albert  Nyanza.)  They  all  declare  that 
they  did  not  desert  from  him,  but  were  left  sick  on  the  road.  They 
say  they  belong  to  Captain  Stairs'  Company.  I  got  them  to  guide  us 
to  the  right  road,  and  they  took  us  to  the  very  village  where  Mr. 
Bonny  and  his  men  slept  the  day  before  yesterday,  close  to  the 
Aruwimi,  and  from  which  point  he  had  turned  back.  He  camped 
there  again  to-day  and  goes  on  to-morrow  morning.  Abdulla  Kiha- 
mira  handed  me  the  40,000  percussion-caps  for  which  Tippu-Tib  is  to 
be  paid  £48. 

Weather  fine.  J.  S.  J. 

July  11th. — Muini  Sumai  informed  me  to-day  that  he  could  not  leave 
for  Banalya  until  the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  warned  him  that  every 
day  lost  on  the  road  would  be  a  day  less  at  Banalya,  as  Major 
Barttelot  would  expect  us  to  be  ready  to  start  on  his  arrival.  He  has 
not  the  slightest  power  over  the  other  head-men. 

Heavy  and  continuous  rain  in  afternoon.  J.  S.  J. 

Jul;/  12th. — Muini  Sumai  requested  percussion-caps  to  be  dis- 
tributed  among   his   men.     Told    him  to  address  himself  to   Major 


538  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

Barttelot  on  the  latter's  arrival.  He  matle  another  excuse  for  not 
starting  to-morrow,  as  be  did  not  like  leaving  the  white  man  behind. 
I  told  him  that  was  my  business  not  theirs,  and  that  every  man  and 
load  must  leave  this  place  to-morrow. 

Weather  cloudy,  but  fine.  J.  S.  J. 


July  ISth. — Muini  Sumai  and  Manyuema  left  to-day  for  Banalya. 
One  sick  chief  going  on  slowly  with  men.  Several  dying  of  small- 
pox left  in  village.  Stench  around  village  frightful,  but  all  villages 
near  here  are  in  a  similar  condition. 

Weather  fine.  J.  S.  J. 


July  14:tJi. — Sent  for  Tippu-Tib's  men  from  Mampuya,  and  told 
them  we  would  remain  here  some  days.  They  have  no  news  of  Major 
Barttelot's  being  on  the  road. 

Heavy  rain  all  afternoon.  J.  S.  J. 

July  16th. — Still  at  Sipula  awaiting  return  of  men  from  Banalya. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  IQth. — Tippu-Tib's  people  came  from  Mampuya  with 
plantains  for  sale.  Purchased  some  for  the  sick.  Cannot  understand 
the  non-arrival  of  men  from  Banalya. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  17th. — Nyombi,  Tippu-Tib's  head  man  at  Mampuya,  came 
into  camp  to-day.  Reports  return  of  the  men  who  took  letters  to 
Stanley  Falls.  Had  seen  Major  Barttelot,  who  has  gone  by  a  short 
road  to  Banalya.  Said  he  would  be  tliere  to-day.  Still  no  signs  of 
the  men  from  Banalya  to  carry  the  extra  loads.  They  are  now  a  full 
two  days  over  date. 

Weather  fine.  J.  S.  J. 

July  ISih. — Between  3  and  4  p.m.  the  men  from  Banalya  arrived. 
Told  them  to  collect  plantains  and  manioc  at  once,  as  we  should 
march  to-morrow.     Much  grumbling. 

The  follo\viug  received  from  Mr.  Bonny : 

•*  Abdullah's  Camp  (Banalya), 
July  15</t,  1888. 

"My  dkak  Jamkhon,— T  arrived  hero  about  10  a.m.  this  day. 
The  Zauzibaria  did    not    know  the   road  well,  and  I   had    to    keep 


APPENDIX.  539 

to  the  front  nearly  the  whole  distance.  When  you  arrive  at  my  first 
camp  on  the  river  bank  yon  had  better  get  three  days'  manioc — you 
will  not  find  any  for  three  days.  The  Soudanese  in  charge  of  the 
Zanzibari  prisoner  let  him  escajjc  on  my  second  day's  march.  You 
may  see  this  escaped  prisoner.  (Here  follows  list.)  Twenty-three  men 
have  deserted.  The  Manyuema  wlio  came  with  us  left  us  on  the  wrong 
road  early  on  second  day ;  they  had  blocked  the  right  road  in  several 
places.  I  did  not  see  any  native  on  the  road,  although  I  am  certain 
they  look  after  people  left  behind.  On  my  four-days'  march  Feraji 
Wadi  Zaid  ran  away,  leaving  his  load  on  the  road.  I  hear  Selangi, 
who  was  sick,  is  also  absent ;  loads  correct. 

"  Yours,  etc., 

"William  Bonny." 
Weather  fine. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  l%tli. — Started  about  7  a.m.  and  marched  to  Mr.  Bonny's 
first  camp.  Aruwimi  R.  distance  between  five  and  six  miles,  general 
direction  north-east.  Passed  through  five  villages  and  over  two 
streams.  Road  generally  good,  through  old  manioc  plantations  broken 
up  with  patches  of  forest.  Halted  to  let  men  collect  manioc. 
Threatening  thunder,  but  fine. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  20<fe. — Left  camp  a  little  before  7  a.m.  and  reached  Mr. 
Bonny's  camp  on  the  bank  of  the  Aruwimi  R.  11  o'clock.  Distance 
between  five  and  six  miles.  General  direction  E.  Road  a  bad  one, 
lying  along  the  bank  of  the  river  and  crossing  all  the  deep  cuttings 
with  muddy  inlets  to  them.  Latter  part  of  march  through  old  sites 
of  very  large  villages.  The  natives  were  all  living  on  opposite  bank. 
Very  large  plantations  of  manioc  and  plantain. 

Weather  fine. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  21si. — When  nearly  ready  to  start  this  morning  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain  fell,  and  I  kept  the  tent  standing ;  it  cleared,  however, 
shortly,  and  we  made  a  start,  when  it  began  to  pour  again  and  rained 
steadily  until  we  reached  Mr.  Bonny's  first  camp  in  forest,  when 
we  halted.  When  about  a  mile  from  the  camp  we  were  met  by 
messengers  from  Mr.  Bonny,  who  handed  me  a  letter,  and  whilst 
opening  it  overheard  some  of  the  men  saying  that  Major  Barttelot 
was  dead.  This  was  only  too  true,  for  my  letter  contained  the  sad 
news  that  he  was  shot  dead  early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  at 
Banalya,  and  further  that  Muini  Sumai  and  all  the  Manyuema  had  left. 


540  IN  DAHKEST  AFRICA, 

Mr.  Bonny's  letter  follows  : — 

''  mh  July,  1888. 
"  My    deau    Jameson, — Major    Barttelot    shot    dead    early   this 
morning ;  Manyuema,  Muini  Sumai  and  Abdullah  Kihamira  all  gone. 
I  have  written  to  Tippu-Tib  through  Mons.  Baert. 
"  Push  on. 

"  Yours, 

"  Bonny." 

J.  S.  J. 

July  22nd. — After  seeing  all  loads  ready  to  start,  got  away  about  an 
hour  after  daybreak  and  reached  Banalya  an  hour  before  sunset — a 
long  march  over  one  of  the  worst  roads  in  this  country.  On  arrival 
found  all  quiet,  and  that  Mr.  Bonny  had  done  all  that  could  be  done 
imder  the  circumstances.  He  had  recovered  about  300  of  the  loads 
carried  by  the  Manyuema,  and  had  succeeded  in  quieting  those  who  had 
remained  near  camp.  Muini  Sumai  halted  on  the  morning  of  the  19th 
instant  without  a  word  to  any  one,  and  has  gone  to  Stanley  Falls. 
The  other  head  men  under  him,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
who  are  camped  outside  this  village,  are  camped  in  the  bnsh  some 
distance  away.  Major  Barttelot  was  buried  on  the  19th.  A  full 
account  of  the  circumstances  of  his  death  is  given  by  Mr.  Bonny 
later  on. 

J.  S.  J, 

July  23rd. — Made  an  inventory  of  the  effects  of  Major  Barttelot, 
and  packed  all  things  considered  necessary  to  send  home,  a  full 
account  of  everything  being  sent  to  Sir  Walter  Barttelot.  Offered  a 
reward  for  the  arrest  of  the  man  who  shot  Major  Barttelot. 

J.  S.  J. 

July  24:th. — Made  a  complete  list  of  all  loads  recovered ;  the 
majority  of  tlie  Manyuema  head  men  came  into  camp,  and  from  them 
gathered  tlie  following  information  : — • 

There  are  193  Manyuema  carriers  still  camped  in  this  vicinity ; 
Muini  Sumai,  six  head  men,  and  Sanga,  the  man  who  shot  Major 
J'iiittelot,  are  all  at  Stanley  Falls.  On  my  march  to  Stanley  Falls 
I  will  meet  more  of  the  head  men,  who  will  give  information  about 
tlioir  loads  and  men,  I  then  told  them  I  Avas  going  to  Stanley  Falls 
t(j-morrow,  to  see  Tij)pu  Tib,  and  try  to  make  such  arrangements 
with  him  us  would  admit  of  our  still  continuing  the  Expedition  ; 
would  )iot  remain  away  long,  ami  when  leturned  would  let  them  know 
whetlujr  it  would  be  an  advance  or  otherwise.  Told  them  I  wished 
them  to  remain  (piietlyin  whatever  camp  they  chose  in  the  neighbour- 
hood,  but  not  in   this    village,  so    that   there  would   be  no    chance 


APPENDIX.  641 

of  further  trouble  until  my  return.  They  said  they  were  jiei-fectly 
willing  to  do  this.  We  have  recovered  298^  loads,  and  are  now 
47i  loads  short. 

Letters  handed  by  me  to  Major  Barttelot  before  our  departure 
from  Yambuya.  Two  loads  of  the  Expedition  found  missing. 
Believed  them  to  have  been  lost  on  the  way,  which  one  of  his  men 
(Hamed  bin  Daoud)  ran  away  with  on  his  return  from  Stanley  Falls. 

J.  S.  J. 

Mr.  Sonny  s  Log. 

July  llth. — I  struck  camp  early,  and  started  along  the  bank  of 
Aruwimi.  I  soon  found  out  why  I  had  not  taken  this  road.  Every 
village  has  been  burnt  down,  and  everything  destroyed.  Elephants 
are  very  numerous  here.  New  roads  have  been  made,  the  old  ones 
destroyed ;  but  after  an  hour's  march  I  came  on  Mr.  Stanley's  road. 
Wm.  Bonny,  Commanding  Advance  Party. 

July  12th. — Made  a  long  march,  taking  three  days'  manioc  to 
enable  me  to  pass  through  the  forest.  The  Arabs  who  joined  with  the 
Zanzibaris  deserted  after  leading  us  an  hour  on  the  wrong  road,  and, 
blocking  up  the  right  ones  in  several  places,  ran  away.  I  found  right 
road,  and  continued  my  march  until  mid- day.     Camped  in  forest. 

Wm.  Bonny,  Commanding  Advance  Parly. 

July  15th. — I  arrived  at  Banalya  at  about  10  a.m.,  after  a  march 
of  four  days  and  four  hours  from  where  I  last  saw  Mr.  Jameson. 
Nothing  worth  noting  occurred  on  the  13th  and  14th  instant. 
Abdullah,  the  head  man  of  this  village,  treating  me  very  kindly, 
giving  me  a  large  house,  rice,  fish,  and  bananas.     Camp  quiet. 

Wm.  Bonny,  Commanding  Advance  Party. 

July  16th. — Some  of  Muini  Sumai's  Manyuema  came  in  to-day. 
Wm.  Bonny,  Commanding  Advance  Party. 

The  dates  17th,  18th,  and  19th  have  been  already  published  in 
Chapter  XX.—"  The  Sad  Story  of  the  Bear  Column." 

H.  M.  S. 

July  'iOth. — Sent  out  to  headmen  to  try  and  get  more  loads.  I 
find  I  am  short  of  the  following  loads,  viz.,  8  bags  beads,  3J  brass 
wire,  10  sacks  of  hkfs.,  9  bales  Zanzibar  cloth,  5  loads  of  powder, 
10  sacks  rice,  1  sack  cowries ;  total  47  loads, 


542  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

I  discovered  ttat  the  man  who  shot  the  Major  is  named  Sanga, 
and  is  a  head  man  charged  with  the  care  of  ten  loads.  He  has  fled  to 
Stanley  Falls  with  Muini  Sumai. 

William  Bonny,   Commanding. 

July  22rtf?. — It  has  heen  raining  now  thirty-six  hours.  Mr. 
Jameson  arrived  to-day.     Camp  quiet. 

William  Bonny,   Commanding. 

July  25th. — Mr.  Jameson  left  here  for  Stanley  Falls,  taking  with 
him  the  late  Major's  effects. 

William  Bonny,   Commanding, 

July  27th. — The  Soudanese  paraded  to-day,  without  heing  asked, 
and  said  they  wished  to  speak  to  me.  They  said — "  We  wish  to  fight 
the  Manyuema  ;  we  are  waiting  for  orders,  and  are  ready  to  fight."  .  .  . 
I  think  they  are  now  ashamed  of  their  conduct  on  the  19th  instant  in 
not  following  me  when  called  upon. 

William  Bonny,   Commanding. 

Following  from  Mr.  Jameson  : — 

"  Camp  in  Forest, 

"  July  26th,  1S88. 

"My  dear  Bonny, — We  have  been  doing  good  work,  marching 
eight  hours  yesterday,  and  nine  and  a  half  hours  to-day 

"  Met  Muini  Sumai.  He  was  on  his  way  back  to  Banalya,  having 
been  pursuaded  to  return  by  other  Arabs  coming  from  Stanley 
Falls. 

"  Muini  Sumai  told  me  that  one  of  Sanga's  women  was  beating  the 
drum  when  the  Major  came  up,  and  the  Major  went  to  the  house 
saying 'Who  is  that?'  Sanga  says  bethought  that  the  Major  was 
going  to  beat  tlie  woman  as  lie  had  beaten  the  man  the  day  before, 
and  HO  fired  at  him.     He  is  at  Stanley  Falls. 

"  Yours, 

"J.  S.  Jameson." 

Augmt  Int. — I  raided  the  Zanzibari  houses  to-day,  which  resulted 
in  my  getting  ton  pieces  of  cloth. 

William  Bonny,   Commanding. 

AuguHt2nd. — Empty  Remington  box  found  in  forest.  A  Zanzibari 
was  found  in  iioKKOKsion  of  forty-eight  hkfs.,  being  part  of  stores  lost 
on  lUth. 

William  Bonny,  Commanding. 


APPENDIX.  648 

August  Qth. — The  natives  came  last  nigTit  and  stole  a  canoe  from 
our  gate,  and  not  two  yards  from  a  Soudanese  sentry.  I  fined  the 
three  Soudanese  sentries  each  £1  for  neglect  of  duty. 

William  Bonny,  Commanding. 

August  8th. — About  10  p.m.,  hearing  an  unusual  noise,  I  got  up, 
and  discovered  that  it  proceeded  from  about  100  to  150  canoes 
knocking  together.  The  natives  were  in  force  across  the  river,  and  I 
soon  posted  my  men.  The  natives  observing  our  movements  returned 
up  river.     No  shot  was  fired.     I  want  to  make  friends  with  them. 

William  Bonny,  Commanding. 


August  12^^.-— The  Manyuema,  through  Chief  Sadi,  brought  mc  a 
present  of  15  lbs.  of  wild  pig  meat.     I  have  had  no  meat  since  25th 

July. 

William  Bonny,  Commanding. 

August  lAth. — ^I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Jameson,  now  at 
Stanley  Falls,  in  which  he  states  that  my  letter  of  the  19th  July,  1888, 
was  lost.  It  was  addressed  to  Mons.  Baert,  Stanley  Falls,  announcing 
the  death  of  Major  Barttelot  to  Tippu-Tib,  and  enclosed  one  to  Sir 
Walter  Barttelot,  Bart.,  M.P.  Tippu-Tib  has  tried  Muini  Sumai,  and 
finding  him  guilty,  has  torn  up  his  contract.  Muini  Sumai  has  to 
return  all  rifles,  &c.  Mr.  Ward  is  at  Bangala  with  letters  from  the 
committee,  which  Jameson  has  ordered  to  be  sent  up.  Tippu-Tib 
has  agreed  to  hand  over  Sanga,  the  murderer  of  the  Major,  to  Jameson 
for  justice.  The  state  officers  claim  that  power,  and  will  try  him,  as 
Banalya  is  within  their  territory. 

William  Bonny,  Commanding. 

August  17th. — Mr.  Stanley  arrived  here  about  11  a.m.  this  morning 
in  good  health,  but  thin.  He  came  by  water  with  about  thirty  canoes, 
accompanied  by  about  200  followers.  Some  of  whom  are  natives 
belonging  to  Emin  Pasha. 

I  briefly  told  Mr.  Stanley  the  news,  handed  to  him  eleven  letters 
addressed  to  himself,  and  four  addressed  to  Emin  Pasha. 

Eain. 

W.  Bonny. 

August  18th. — ^A  Manyuema  admits  to  Mr.  Stanley  that  he  had  two 
bales  of  Zanzibar  cloth,  and  knew  a  man  who  had  a  bag  of  beads, 
taken  from  me  on  the  19th  July.     Mr.  Stanley  advised  the  head-maa 


544  IN  DARKEST  AFRICA. 

to  return  the  goods  to  me.  Kimanga  brought  two  half  })ales  of 
Zanzibar  cloth,  being  part  of  the  stores  looted  on  the  19th  July.  A 
receipt  was  given  to  him.  I  received  a  letter  dated  August  12th, 
Stanley  Falls,  from  Mr.  Jameson.  Muini  Sumai  came  in  and  saw 
Mr.  Stanley. 

William  Bonny. 

August  19tJi. — Muini  Sumai  has  now  returned  all  rifles,  revolvers, 
and  ammunition,  besides  top  of  tent. 

William  Bonny. 

August  20th. — Soudanese  and  Zanzibaris  paraded  to-day  of  their 
OA^-n  accord  before  Mr.  Stanley,  and  complained  to  him  that  they  had 
been  badly  treated. 

The  following  is  from  Mr.  Jameson  : — 

"  Stanley  Falls, 

"A^igust  12,  1888. 

"  My  dear  Bonny, — The  Expedition  is  at  a  very  low  ebb  at 
present,  as  I  think  you  will  acknowledgCo  No  head-man  will  go  in 
charge  of  Manyuema  although  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  to  get 
one.  Tippu-Tib  said  he  would  go  for  £20,000  paid  unconditionally, 
and  said  further  that  if  he  met  with  any  really  superior  force,  or  saw 
his  men  threatened  mth  any  serious  loss,  he  would  return.  It  is  not 
likely  that  the  Committee  would  agree  to  this  proposal.  Seccmdly,  he 
proposed  for  the  same  sum  to  take  the  loads  via  Nyangwe  and 
Tanganika  to  Kibero  in  Unyoro,  guaranteeing  first  to  pay  for  all 
loss  of  loads.  Secondly,  to  deliver  all  loads  at  Kibero  in  Unyoro 
within  six  mouths  of  date  of  starting.  Thirdly,  after  delivering 
loads  at  Kibero  will  look  for  Stanley.  But  if  war  between  Unyoro 
and  Uganda,  could  not  guarantee  delivery  of  loads  at  Kibero.  I  had  a 
final  interview  with  him  last  night.  I  told  him  that  Mr.  Stanley's 
very  last  orders  were  to  follow  the  same  road  he  had  taken.  Major 
Barttelot's  intentions  were,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  to  continue  on  that 
road.  Major  Barttelot  wrote  to  Mr.  Mackinnon  to  say  he  had  started 
on  that  road.  The  reply  of  the  Committee  could  not  have  been  to  go 
by  ajiother,  or  wc  would  have  received  it.  Emiu  Pasha's  last  state- 
iiKjiit  was  to  the  efibct  tliat  if  ho  were  not  soon  relieved  he  Avould  put 
himself  at  tlio  liead  of  liis  men  and  try  and  get  out  vid  tlie  Congo. 
Tliat  Eiiiin  Paslia  liad  received  the  messages  which  Mr.  Stanley  sent 
from  Zanzibar  telling  him  his  route  would  be  by  the  Congo.  Tliat 
did  ]i(!  start,  the  Congo  would  without  doubt  be  the  route  ho  would 
choose  to  come  out.  And  that  iiually,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  I  could 
not  go  by  a  new  route  unless  ordered  to  do  so.  Tipi)u-Tib  then  said, 
'  You  are  right.'  I  then  tohl  him  that  as  regards  our  old  route,  he 
could  not  got  mo  u  licad-mau  over  the  Manyuonui,  no  matter  what  I  di4 


APPENDIX.  r)4r) 

to  induoo  tliem.  He  Kaid  lio  would  ediiiiiuuKl  \.\\v\\\  liiiiiKelf  for 
£20,000,  yet  tokl  me  that  if  any  Kcrimis  loss  was  threatened  to  liis 
men  he  wouki  turn  hack.  I  replied,  '  Yon  will  accept  no  lews  a 
snm  than  £20,000,  and  that  unconditionally.'  Many  of  the 
Manyuema  openly  avow  their  intention  should  I  go  without  a  head- 
man from  you,  they  will  proceed  a  certain  distance,  and  when  they 
come  to  a  good  village,  throw  down  our  loads  and  hegin  ivory  hunting. 
(This  Tippu-Tih  acknowledged.)  Therefore,  if  I  start  from  here 
without  a  head-man  it  might  be  fatal  to  the  whole  expedition. 

"  The  only  thing  left  for  me  to  do  now  was  to  get  a  canoe,  and  go 
to  Bangala  at  once.  Eead  the  Committee's  reply,  and  if  it  was  to  the 
effect,  go  on  at  all  hazards.  Then  I  would  take  thirty  or  forty  loads 
to  be  carried  by  the  men  Tipjni-Tib  is  going  to  give  me  to  replace 
those  of  Muini  Sumai,  bring  Mr.  Ward  with  me,  as  in  case  the 
Manyuemas  chucked  their  loads,  there  w^ould  be  one  of  us  who  might 
get  back  with  the  news,  and  bring  no  headman.  I  shall  have  plenty 
to  do  with  the  Manyuema.  Eeturn  here  at  once  in  the  Stanley 
Steamer,  which  will  be  at  Bangala  immediately  after  I  arrive  there, 
and  start  at  night  away  again.  If  the  reply  of  the  Committee  would 
justify  my  stopping,  knowing  all  I  do,  I  would  send  Ward  with  a 
telegram  at  once  to  Banana  by  same  canoes  I  go  down  in,  return  in 
the  Stanley,  go  up  to  you,  and  all  men  and  loads  would  be  sent  to 
Yarukombe  on  the  Congo.  Tippu-Tib  guarantees  that  he  will 
dismiss  his  men,  and  keep  them  close  to  the  Aruwimi,  and  should  the 
reply  from  the  Committee  be  to  still  go  on,  on  either  route,  he  will 
have  them  all  collected  in  a  few  days.  There  is  no  one  to  go  down 
but  me.  Were  I  to  wait  the  answer  of  the  Committee  here,  then  if 
we  started  at  once  I  woiild  have  no  loads  to  replace  those  lost  at 
Banalya,  and  Ward  could  not  come  with  us,  and  if  I  thought  right  to 
stop  and  send  a  telegram,  a  very  serious  delay  would  accnie  in  Ward's 
starting  with  it. 

"  What  I  wish  you  to  do  now  is  to  stop  at  Banalya  until  you  lu^ar 
from  me,  which  cnight  to  be  in  three  weeks  or  a  month. 


"  If  we  have  to  come  down  to  Yarukombe,  the  thing  will  be  to 
make  Zanzibaris  believe  that  we  are  going  to  Zanzibar,  then  there  will 
not  be  many  desertions.  Tippu-Tib  has  found  out  the  refuge  of  the 
deserters.  It  is  at  Yatuka,  Said  bin  Habib's  place.  He  has  sent 
men  to  catch  all  who  are  there.  Daoud  was  captured  at  Yambuya 
with  the  Major's  sack  of  cloth  with  him.  Pieces  of  our  cloth  are 
being  brought  here  to  Tippu-Tib  from  villages  all  over  the 
country. 

"  Yesterday  Sanga  (the  murderer)  was  tried  before  Tippu-Tib  and 

VOL.    I.  J  J 


546  IN  DABKEST  AFRICA. 

the  Belgian  Resident.     He  avus  found  guilty,  and  Bliot  immediately 
afterwards. 


"  My  hopes  sometimes  have  been  raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  and 
then  throwTi  to  tlie  ground  the  next  moment.  When  Tippu  Tib  said 
he  would  go  for  £20,000,  I  told  him  I  did  not  think  tlie  Committee 
would  give  it,  but  if  he  would  give  me  certain  guarantees  I  would  pay 
half  the  sum  myself  as  a  subscription  to  the  Exjjeditiou.  But  after 
what  he  had  said  no  one  would  take  him. 


"  You  remember  that  in  camp  I  had  serious  thought  for  reasons 
you  know  of  not  bringing  Ward  ;  but  if  we  do  start  this  time  without 
any  head-man,  it  is  most  necessary  that  there  should  be  three  of  us. 
1  assure  you  that  his  coming  will  not  in  the  least  interfere  with  your 
command  of  the  Zanzibaris.  And  now,  old  man,  good-bye,  and  God 
bless  you. 

"  Very  sincerely  yours, 

"  James  S.  Jameson." 


Copy  of  pencilled  remarks  and  calculations  made  in  presence  of  Major 
Barttelot,  June  24th,  1887,  when  he  demanded  further  light 
upon  his  duties,  and  regarding  Tippu-Tib.  Fourteen  months 
after  it  had  been  handed  to  Major  Barttelot  it  was  restored  to  me 
by  Mr.  William  Bonny.  It  was  copied,  and  the  document  was 
returned  to  him. 

"  Str.  Stanley,  let  us  assume,  arrives  here  in  August,  Mr.  Stanley 
hopes  to  be  at  Nyanza  same  date.  He  stops  two  weeks  with  Emin 
Pasha,  say  to  1st  Sei)tembor.      September  and  October  to  come  back. 

"  So  you  have  got  seventy-four  days  with  550  loads  ;  you  have  155 
carriers,  besides  two  garrisons  of  lifty  men  eacJi,  to  occupy  ends  of  your 
days'  march. 

Going  G  miles  per  day.  .  .  155  loads  4    trips    to    make    6 

6                „          „  .  .  155      ,,      I  miles  forward,  8  trips 

6                „          „  .  .  155     „      )  to  make  1  day's  jour- 

6               „          „  .  .  155     „      '  ncy  for  a  caravan. 

"Therefore  in  seventy-four  days  you  will  have  made  nine  marches 
forward  ncaier  t(»  us. 

"  If  Tii)iMi-Til)  sends  400  men  with  your  208  carrieis  you  can 
marf;h  with  all  goods  towanls  Muta  Nzige.  Then  I  shall  meet  you 
thirt('(!ii  days  from  Muta  Nzige." 


APPENDIX.  ,547 

List  of  Stokes  laiulefl  at  Yiuiil)iiyii  Cam]),  August  lltli,  1887,  per 
8.S.  SUinlcij  from  Lcopoldville  :  — 

lOU  cases  gunjxjwdcr. 
129     „        Remington  rifle  cartridges. 
10     „       percussion  caps. 

7  „  biscuits  (ship). 
2  „  Madeira  wine. 
2     „       Savelist. 

Ill  bales  cloth  (assorted). 
3o  sacks  beads. 
13     „       cowries. 
20     „       rice. 

8  „       salt. 

1     „       empty  sacks. 

26  loads  of  bi'ass  rods. 

27  „        brass  and  iron  Avire. 
1  case  tinware. 


493 


List  of  Stores  left    at  Yambuya  iu  charge  of  Major    Barttelot 
June  28th.  1887  :— 


2  boxes 
20     „ 
38     „ 

general  and  j)rivato  baggage - 
Remington  rifle  cartridges. 
Winchester          „          „ 

—Mr.  Stanley. 

24     „ 

Maxim       „ 

24     „       European  provisions. 
10  loads  officers'  baggage. 

15     „ 

brass  rods. 

1     „ 

tobacco. 

1     „ 

cowries. 

12     „ 

rice. 

7     „ 

biscuits. 

1     „ 

salt. 

3     „ 

tents 

167 


./ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 

COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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APR  2  7  1998 


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